Poll: 41% of Palestinians support resuming the Intifada

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - Lahav Harkov (October 21, 2010)

If direct talks fail, 41 percent of Palestinians support the resumption of an armed Intifada, according to a poll released on Thursday by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah.

Sixty-four percent of Palestinians surveyed believe they need success in direct talks more than Israelis, while 51% of Israelis think both sides need success equally. Both groups are skeptical that negotiations will succeed with 5% of Israelis and 6% of Palestinians thinking they will yield an agreement, but 78% of Israelis support their continuation. Only 30% of Palestinians support continuing talks.

If peace talks fail, 69% of Palestinians support turning to the UN Security Council to recognize a Palestinian State, and 54% support unilaterally declaring a state, according to the poll's findings. 40% support dissolving the Palestinian Authority, should talks fail, and 27% believe there should be a one-state solution. Neither Palestinians nor Israelis consider it likely that an independent Palestinian State will be established next to the State of Israel in the next five years.

In addition, if talks fail, 51% support nonviolent resistance, while 41% support resuming the Intifada. At the same time 63% of Israelis surveyed fear the Palestinians will resume violence.

Only 29% of Israelis support a full construction freeze in the West Bank, with 46% supporting construction only in the areas that will remain under Israeli rule in a future agreement. Twenty-eight percent support unlimited construction in all settlements.

The poll covered a Palestinian sample of 1270 adults interviewed face-to-face in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, and an Israeli sample of 610 Israelis interviewed by phone. �