JORDAN TIMES

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Most Palestinians believe the renewal of peace talks with Israel was a mistake and over two-thirds think the negotiations will fail, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Just over half the respondents — 50.5 per cent — said the decision by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to resume US-brokered peace talks with Israel in late July was a mistake, while 33.8 per cent said it was the right decision, according to the Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre (JMCC) survey.

And only one in five — or 20.8 per cent — believed the talks would yield an agreement, while 68.7 per cent expected them to fail.

The per centage of those who see negotiations as the best way to end the Israeli occupation and establish a state stood at 32.3 per cent, down from 36.8 registered in the previous survey in March.

Three in 10 respondents — or 29.3 per cent — said they believed the best way to achieve such goals would be through “armed resistance,” while 27.1 per cent favoured a strategy of “non-violent resistance”.

Some 49.3 per cent of those questioned said that Palestinian security coordination with Israel should be stopped, while just over a third — 36.3 per cent — said it should continue.

Were parliamentary elections to be held now, 37.1 per cent said they would vote for Abbas’ Fateh Party, while 18.8 per cent would back the rival Hamas movement, which rules Gaza.

The poll questioned 1,200 adults in the West Bank and Gaza between November 13-17 and has an error margin of 3 per cent.

SOURCE: JORDAN TIMES