Poll: Israelis Negative on PA

A new poll reveals that 80 percent of Israelis consider it naïve to think that a lasting peace can be based on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Israel’s retreating to the borders that existed from the re-establishment of the Jewish State until the Six-Day War in 1967.

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Only 10 percent of the respondents thought that a total withdrawal could lead to a lasting peace, according to the poll carried out by the Brain Base (Maagar Mohot) surveying firm. Half of those polled said that Israel has no “peace partner’ while only 29 percent believe that the Palestinian Authority can be relied on over negotiations for a new PA state.

Similar results were recorded concerning the idea that Israel should rely on international forces in any future security arrangements. A plurality of 38 percent expressed opposition to Jordan and Egypt deploying their soldiers in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, while 29 percent backed the idea.

A decided plurality of 45 percent opposed President Shimon Peres’s proposal that the PA be established as a country even without an agreement with Israel on issues such as the status of Jerusalem and allowing several million Arabs living in foreign countries to immigrate to Israel.

They agreed with the statement that the plan “promotes instability and increases the ability of the Palestinians to threaten Israel's security." Twenty-three percent of the respondents agreed that the President’s proposal would "promote peace and stability."