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Third Palestinian Uprising Seen Unlikely
(Christian Science Monitor) Joshua Mitnick - Though many worry that a third Palestinian uprising is going to erupt in the wake of peace talks ending - as occurred after the breakdown of the Camp David talks in 2000 - Palestinians and Israelis on the ground believe this is unlikely. Part of the reason is that Palestinians still remember the last uprising, and are loathe to return to the chaos and hardship it brought. At the same time, the current round of negotiations never truly inflated expectations among Palestinians. A recent report by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah suggested that Palestinians are opposed to an armed uprising against Israel by 53% to 43% in the case of the failure of talks. Khalil Shikaki, who runs the polling center, said in January that sentiment opposing a return to violence has held steady since 2005. In addition, the Palestinian security services are also believed to oppose such a move. Over the last decade these forces have been overhauled into a more professional and disciplined outfit that cooperates closely with Israel to root out militants in the West Bank.