Interesting data for researchers: Gap between Palestinians is still there
Palestine-Israel, Culture, 1/12/1998

It might take politicians and leaders on both sides ages to achieve peace between Palestinians and Israelis because of the wide gap between peoples of the two sides. A recent poll conducted jointly by an Arab Palestinian firm and an Israeli research center highlighted many of those fields in which Palestinians and Israelis seem to be as far apart from each other as ever.

The poll showed that the majority on both sides support the peace process while the Israelis blame themselves more for missing a number of peace chances in the past. Both sides reflected a considerable amount of hope that peace will eventually be achieved in the region. The Jerusalem Media And Communications Center in East Jerusalem and the Tamy Steinmitz Center for Peace Researches of the Tel Aviv University started their joint poll late in November and finished by the beginning of December last year. They questioned 1,185 Palestinians and 1,002 Israelis, all above 18 years old.

On the peace process: The majority of both peoples support peace, though the Israelis were less enthusiastic (59 percent in Israel and 68 percent among the Palestinians).

Interim Agreements: Among the Palestinians, 43 percent believe the interim agreements between the Palestine and Israel are confidence building accords while 45 percent see the opposite. For them, the interim agreements have only worsened confidence between the two sides. On the Israeli side, 41 percent believe the agreements are detrimental to confidence between the two sides while only 33 percent saw them as confidence-building agreements.

Asked what in their opinion what was the major block for peace in the region, 27 percent of the Palestinians said it is Israel's intransigence, and 17 percent blamed the Jewish settlements. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party's policies came next (10 percent) and Jerusalem was at the bottom of the list with only 7 percent.

When the Israelis were asked the same questions, their answers varied too. Of them, 27 percent blamed Netanyahu and his government, 16 percent blamed both sides. Some Israelis blamed what they called Palestinian terror (9 percent) and the same number blamed the stereotypical views Arabs allegedly have of Israelis.

The poll showed a big gap between Palestinian and Israeli feelings of personal security since the signing of the interim agreements. On the Palestinian side, 64 percent said they felt secure while only 12 percent said they felt the situation has deteriorated since the signing of the agreements. Within Israeli society, only 9 percent said they felt more secure since the agreements were signed while 35 percent said they did not feel more secure since then and 55 percent said they have not felt any change.

Only a small minority on both sides felt economic conditions have improved since the singing of the agreements (17 percent of Palestinians and 7 percent of Israelis). The majority, by the same token, felt their economic situation has deteriorated (59 percent among the Palestinians and 40 percent among the Israelis).

On relations between the two sides, 65 percent of Palestinians and 77 percent of Israelis believe relations should be augmented between the two sides in all fields while both believe there is a need for closed borders between the two entities in order to keep them separated. Eighty one percent of Israelis and 63 percent of Palestinians favor separation between the two sides.

Asked if the other side was sincere in its quest for peace, 89 percent of the Palestinians said they believe Israel is not sincere and 56 percent of the Israelis believe the Palestine wants peace as opposed to 40 percent who feel the opposite. But when it comes to people on both sides, the evaluation is a bit different, with 51 percent of the Palestinians believing that the Israeli public wants peace as opposed to 46 percent who believe the Israelis do not want peace. On the Israeli side, 56 percent believe the Palestinians want peace while 40 percent believe the contrary.

On the commercial and personal levels, 22 percent of Palestinians and 33 percent of Israelis said they have such relations with the other side and most of those characterized their relations to be generally good (72 percent among the Israelis and only 53 percent among the Palestinians).

With regard to friendly relations between the two sides, 50 percent of the Palestinian people are ready for such relations while 47 percent said they are not. On the Israeli side, 23 percent said they want friendly relations with the Palestinians while 74 percent said they are not interested in such relations.

Previous Stories:
  Ross, like Baker, brought more settlements with every trip   (1/9/1998)
  Dahlan : We reject any changes on the security understanding   (12/23/1997)
  Census in East Jerusalem: A compromise in the making   (12/10/1997)

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