Tuesday, September 14, 2010

US Poll: Abbas Not Committed to Peace


Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A7 News

A new poll by the non-partisan Israel Project shows most Americans believe Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is committed to peace and that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is not.

The Israel Project (TIP) describes itself as “an international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace.” The survey was released one day before Israel and PA leaders convened at Sharm el-Sheikh, where American-mediated discussions began Tuesday morning, with no expectations other than official statements describing optimism. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Middle East envoy George Mitchell are attending the one-day talks, which are scheduled to move to Jerusalem and Ramallah on Wednesday.

By a six-to-one margin of 61-11, Americans think that Israel is more committed than PA Arabs to a peace agreement. The poll did not explain why support for Israel has grown from only 51 percent backing for Israel in a poll last July. However, mass media have increasingly reported Abbas’ refusal to offer any compromises to Israel while refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish country.

Fifty-five percent of the respondents said they generally support Israel, and only 9 percent stated they back the Palestinian Authority.

A breakdown of the respondents' political opinions revealed that a small majority describe themselves as “moderate/liberal.” Their preferences in the 2008 presidential elections were evenly split between Barack Obama and John McCain.

The respondents also overwhelmingly said that crossings to Hamas-controlled Gaza should not be opened without Israeli inspection.

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