The latest survey of Palestinian public opinion in the West Bank and Gaza by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) under Dr. Khalil Shikaki, conducted between May 15-18, shows that:
*A majority of 70% of Palestinians support reconciliation between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples after reaching a peace agreement based on the establishment of a Palestinian state recognized by Israel.
*A majority of 66% supports the Saudi peace plan calling for the establishment of two states, Palestine and Israel, an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, and the establishment of full normal relations and full peace between Israel and the Arab states.
*Support for bombing attacks inside Israel drops from 58% last December to 52% in this survey. But a large majority of 86% opposes arresting those who carry out the bombing attacks, and 67% (compared to 61% last December) believe that armed confrontations have helped achieve Palestinian national rights in ways that negotiations could not.
*A majority of 89% supports a democratic political system, including 95% support for periodic elections, 82% for the election of the head of the state for a limited period only, 85% for full freedom to form political parties, 82% for free press without state censorship, and 78% for a judiciary independent of the executive branch.
This poll once again shows that many people have misunderstood the reasons why suicide bombings are supported by many ordinary Palestinians, despite their barbarity. It is not, as the right believes, because they want to annihilate Israel, even if that is what motivates the Islamist perpetrators themselves. How much would support for suicide bombings decline if there were a viable political process which was bringing about Palestinian independence and improving living conditions? We already have the answer: only 20% of Palestinians supported violence over peace talks when the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, and hopes were high among Palestinians that negotiations would achieve a two-state solution, a complete end to the Israeli occupation and the removal of settlements. It could not be clearer why Peace Now's approach remains the answer.
A representative sample of 1,317 adults were interviewed face-to-face, in 120 locations, with a sample error of 3%. This PSR survey was conducted with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Ramallah.