Posted on 11/07/2003 10:15:32 AM PST by yonif
A majority of Palestinians continues to support suicide attacks against Israeli civilians, according to a new public opinion poll published on Thursday by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center (JMCC). The poll found that 61.8 percent of Palestinians supported suicide attacks, while 34.9% are opposed to this form of terrorism.
Another 67.9% said they supported the resumption of "military operations" against Israel "as a suitable response within the current political conditions." Twenty-eight percent said they rejected such attacks and because they find them harmful to Palestinian national interests.
A majority of 42.3% said they supported the resumption of attacks inside Israel and the West Bank and Gaza Strip as opposed to 14.1% who said the attacks should be restricted only to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. More than 23.5% of those polled voiced opposition to the resumption of terrorist attacks on both sides of the Green Line.
The poll, which covered a random sample of 1198 people over the age of 18 – 758 in the West Bank, and 440 in the Gaza Strip. It was conducted between October 18 and 21, with a 3% margin of error, and a confidence level of 95.
JMCC public opinion polls are supported by a fund from Fredrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation in Germany.
Of those surveyed, 58.9% are pessimistic about the future in general, while another 71.9% are not optimistic about the chances of reaching a peaceful settlement for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In regard to the intifada, 76.8% supported its continuation, with only 21.7% saying that they want to see an end to the violence. In response to a question about the end results of the of the intifada, 44.6% said the goal should be ending the occupation on the basis of UN Resolution 242 and establishing a Palestinian state. Another 43.0% said the intifada should end in the liberation of all of historic Palestine.
However, 45.7% said they supported the two-state formula as the best solution for the conflict as opposed to 25.3% who said that the best solution would be a bi-national state on all of historic Palestine.
The poll showed that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat continues to enjoy Palestinian support, with 59.8% saying they would expect him to be re-elected if free and democratic elections were held today, as opposed to 30.8% that did not expect Arafat to win.
It sure is.
Since you are including Gaza in that, not to mention all the Arab cities in Judea and Samaria, then I must hope that your position never becomes Israeli government policy. What do you do with the Palestinians? No Arab nation will take them. Neither will anybody else. What do you propose? Genocide?
Build the fence, wall them in, keep them all out of Israel. This will stop, or at the very least greatly reduce, the violence. Once terrorism no longer works and is no longer possible perhaps we won't have to treat Palestinians like dangerous animals. All it would take was for them to stop acting like dangerous animals.
Can I have some of what you're smoking?
That's down from 99.9%. So there is hope. Either that or the numbers can't reflect the ones who would have said yes to suicide attacks and are now unable to because they've already carried out one and are now quite dead.
Sigh. Israel is in such a horrible neighborhood.
Arresting, or preferably killing in that process every Islamist with any demonstrable ties to terror whatsoever.
Imprison them, dump then into the Sinai (where they can wander for 40 years), or Jordan, Saudi Arabia or Europe.
Anyone then wishing to remain would be compelled to swear an oath of allegiance to the Jewish state. If they won't, they go too.
Look at it this way: my great uncle, who also was in the national camp, once called me an Arafatnik for daring to suggest that Arabs are humans and therefore have human rights. I still loved the man and respected him for all he had done, but I still believe anyone who is human has human rights. We do not have the right to expel millions of Arabs from their homes.
I expect the newbie who likes to insult me will call me an extreme leftist for voicing my views. He's about due. My friends on the left think I've turned into a right-wing lunatic. You can't please everybody :)
Which of course is exactly what the US administration is saying about islam! Even if this were true, 12.5% (Pipes' estimate) of 1.3 billion is 162,500,500, or about 60% of the US population, a huge problem. Not surprisingly the same argument is used by defenders of islam and terrorism "Well, the few bad apples are oppressing the overwhelming majority who are in opposition to their leaders."
It would be interesting to give the same poll to the Israeli right and Isralei left and compare the two figures.
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