(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A large proportion of people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have a pessimistic view of the years to come, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. 72.7 per cent of respondents think the chances of founding a Palestinian state in the next five years are low or non-existent.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A large proportion of people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have a pessimistic view of the years to come, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. 72.7 per cent of respondents think the chances of founding a Palestinian state in the next five years are low or non-existent.
In addition, 61.5 per cent of respondents expect a new Israeli government to increase settlement expansion into Palestinian territory and lead failed peace efforts.
The former British mandate of Palestine was instituted at the end of World War I, to oversee a territory in the Middle East that formerly belonged to the Ottoman Empire. After the end of World War II and the Nazi holocaust, the Zionist movement succeeded in establishing an internationally recognized homeland. In November 1947, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the formation of a Jewish state.
In 1948, the British government withdrew from the mandate and the state of Israel was created in roughly 15,000 square kilometres of the mandate’s land, with the remaining areas split under the control of Egypt and Transjordan. Since then, the region has seen constant disagreement between Israel and the Palestinians, represented for decades by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Wars broke out in the region in the second half of the 20th Century, involving Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.
Around 750,000 Palestinians fled or were forced to leave their territory during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The "right of return"—under which Palestinians aim to re-occupy their homes in Israel—has always been a questionable point in peace negotiations. Hundreds of thousands of refugees from the war and their descendants still live in shantytown camps run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), next to Gaza cities and towns.
During the six-day war in 1967, Israel gained control of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas is currently heading the Palestinian Authority from the West Bank, endorsed by Israel and most of the Western international community. Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas has become the de-facto leader in the Gaza Strip.
In February, Israeli voters renewed the Knesset. The Likud party, led by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, secured 27 seats in the legislature. The far-right Israel Our Home, the Labour party, the International Organization of Torah-observant Sephardic Jews (Shas), United Torah Judaism, and the Jewish Home joined Likud in a coalition. On Mar. 31, Netanyahu was sworn in as prime minister.
Israel Our Home leader Avigdor Lieberman was appointed as foreign minister. On Apr. 1, Lieberman claimed that Israel is under no obligation to live up to agreements with the Palestinians made by previous governments, and declared: "Those who wish for peace should prepare for war."
Polling Data
Now, 40 years after the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, what in your view are the chances for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state next to the state of Israel in the next five years? Are they high, medium, low, or non-existent?
|
Non-existent |
36.9% |
|
Low |
35.8% |
|
Medium |
20.2% |
|
High |
3.8% |
|
Not sure |
3.3% |
Given the outcome of the most recent Israeli elections, what are your expectations regarding the peace process? For example, do you think that negotiations will now be more successful in ending settlement expansion and bringing peace or will settlements expand and peace efforts fail?
|
Expect increase in settlement expansion and failure of peace efforts |
61.5% |
|
Expect conditions to stay are they are today |
27.9% |
|
Expect negotiations to succeed in ending settlement expansion and bringing peace |
7.2% |
|
Not sure |
3.4% |
Source: Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,270 Palestinian adults in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, conducted from Mar. 5 to Mar. 7, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
