The findings of last week\'s poll by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center are particularly interesting, in light of recent comments by Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and others against collective punishment of the Palestinian population. Peres has said that Israel will ensure that the Palestinian population, \"which is not engaged in warfare against Israel,\" can lead normal lives. Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer, too, has explained this as the reason for the recent and continuing relaxation of security restrictions upon the Palestinians.



The poll, entitled \"Palestinian Attitudes Towards Politics including the Current Intifada,\" included questions to a random sample of 1,200 Arabs over the age of 18 throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Arutz-7\'s Ron Meir reports that a central finding of the poll is the overwhelming Palestinian support for suicide bombs against Israeli civilians. When asked about suicide bombing operations against Israeli civilians in Israel, a whopping 73.7% came out in support of such actions - with 54.4% \"strongly supporting\" such attacks and 19.3% \"somewhat supportive.\" Less than 16% opposed suicide bombings of Israeli civilian targets. Similarly, some 80% of Yesha Arabs support the continuation of the mini-war against Israel, while only 13.3% oppose it.