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Israeli Support for Roadmap Plan Dips Below 50 Percent

[Washington Times] Anthony Jaffee - Support among Israelis for the U.S.-led "Roadmap" has slipped below 50 percent for the first time since 2003, according to a poll conducted jointly by Hebrew University's Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. A large majority of Israelis support the creation of a Palestinian state, but only 28% believe the chances of establishing it in the next five years are fair or high, while 69% believe the chances are nonexistent or weak. The continued rocket attacks and suicide bombings in Israel over the past several years are behind the growing cynicism in the Israeli public, said Ariel Cohen, a specialist on the Arab-Israeli conflict at the Heritage Foundation. "The Israeli public was very committed to a negotiated solution for decades," he said. "Every Israeli child grows up singing songs about peace, but even after that conditioning the population is becoming disappointed because the other side is clinging to terrorism." Russell Stone, director of the Center for Israeli Studies at American University, said, "After the [Israeli] withdrawal from Gaza a couple years ago rocketing of Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip began immediately....This has been a great tactical mistake for the Palestinians because it lessens the willingness among the Israeli population to make any further concessions."
2008-06-16 01:00:00
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