Lamia Lahoud - Jerusalem Post 4 giugno 2001
JERUSALEM (June 4) - More than 76 percent of Palestinians support suicide attacks against Israelis, according to a opinion poll released yesterday by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion. The poll sampled at random 707 Palestinian adults from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem between May 24 and May 26. The margin of error, according to PCPO head Dr. Nabil Kukali, was 4%.
A Palestinian security official said that one of the problems in stopping such attacks is the strong support for them among the population.
He said that the support is due to Israel's daily attacks on Palestinian areas and the economic hardship Palestinians are currently experiencing. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are aware of the sympathy for their attacks on the Palestinian street, and will continue to perpetrate such attacks despite the Palestinian Authority's cease-fire order, he said.
Only a cease-fire that will also bring the population some gains and that is followed up by political measures will create an atmosphere in which such attacks by extremists will again be unpopular. In the meantime, extremists will use public sentiment to justify continued attacks, the security officer said.
Hamas and Jihad have an interest in violating any cease-fire, since they know they would be rearrested once there is progress and a resumption of talks, he said.
The opinion poll also showed that 80.2% of the respondents do not believe that Israel's cease-fire is serious. However, 34.3% of those polled said they would support PA Chairman Yasser Arafat if he calls for a cease-fire to resume negotiations.
According to the sample, 75.7% support the continuation of the violence. However, 38% called upon both sides to halt violence, and 36.8% still believe in the continuation of the peace process. Another 58.1% believe that peace between Israel and the Palestinians will never prevail.
Thirty-two percent expressed dissatisfaction with the PA, while 40.3% stated that they were slightly satisfied and 21.5% were highly satisfied. Fatah got the highest scores, with 30.2% saying they would vote for Fatah in any general election, while Hamas got the support of 18.5%, with 3.6% saying they support Islamic Jihad, and 11.2% saying they would vote for independents.