(Shipler Report) David K. Shipler - In the past decade, Israeli Jewish support for a Palestinian state has usually hovered near 50%. But support drops off sharply as soon as the actual contours and characteristics of a Palestinian state are defined as Palestinians desire. For example, a strong majority of Israeli Jews oppose making east Jerusalem the capital of a Palestinian state: Since Oslo, only one-quarter to one-third have agreed to such an arrangement. Polls have shown both Israeli Jews and Palestinians seriously dissatisfied with a state defined in ways that the other side would accept. Israelis will not forget the suicide bombers sent by Palestinians into Israel during the second intifada, from 2000 to 2004, or the rockets from Hamas since Israel's unilateral departure from Gaza in 2005. The Palestinians have given Netanyahu his credible argument that a state on the West Bank would become a Hamas-dominated threat. Who can deny that possibility? The writer is a veteran New York Times correspondent.
2015-04-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive