(Washington Post/AP) Mark Lavie - A majority of Palestinians want their police to crack down on militants attacking Israel - a shift after two years of violence against Israel, according to a Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll released Thursday, indicating that Palestinians are souring on their uprising after the death of almost 2,000 Palestinians and 700 Israelis in clashes, military operations, and terror attacks. Up to now, polls have consistently shown widespread support among the Palestinian public for the violence, including suicide bomb attacks. According to the latest poll, conducted Nov. 14-22, 56% favor steps by the Palestinian Authority to stop attacks in Israel. In May, 86% opposed arresting Palestinian militants involved in suicide bombings inside Israel. 53% still support attacking Israeli civilians and 90% support attacks on soldiers and Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 76% said they backed efforts to reach a mutual cease-fire, a sharp rise from 48% just three months ago. While Arafat's popularity remained unchanged at 35%, 73% favored selecting a Palestinian prime minister to take over some of Arafat's powers. "There is no doubt that the public very strongly blames Arafat," said Khalil Shikaki, the center's director.
2002-11-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive