October 01, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most residents of the Gaza Strip and West Bank believe an upcoming international conference to discuss peace in the Middle East will be ineffective, according to a poll by An-Najah National University. 57.3 per cent of respondents think the summit—scheduled to take place in November—will not be successful, and 67.9 per cent are pessimistic about the Palestinian situation in general.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most residents of the Gaza Strip and West Bank believe an upcoming international conference to discuss peace in the Middle East will be ineffective, according to a poll by An-Najah National University. 57.3 per cent of respondents think the summit—scheduled to take place in November—will not be successful, and 67.9 per cent are pessimistic about the Palestinian situation in general.

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. An independent Palestinian state is considered the main provision of the road map for peace in the Middle East, developed by The Quartet, which includes the United States, the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and Russia.

Earlier this year, U.S. president George W. Bush called for the international conference. The event is expected to take place in the U.S. in November with the participation of leaders from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and representatives from the Arab League, among others. The conference will seek to set the tone for a future peace process that could include a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

On Sept. 25, Bush and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas met in New York City. Abbas said the November conference should be the precursor to "full negotiations on the permanent status" of the Palestinians. Bush said the U.S. "will be a strong partner’’ in establishing an independent state for Palestinians, adding, "I believe that the vision of two states side by side in peace is achievable."

Polling Data

Do you think that the international conference that the United States called for in the coming fall aiming at pushing the peace process forward will succeed?

Yes	23.8%
No	57.3%
No opinion	19.0%

Are you pessimistic or optimistic towards the general Palestinian situation at this stage?

	Sept. 2007	Jun. 2007
Optimistic	27.4%	27.0%
Pessimistic	67.9%	70.3%
No opinion	4.6%	2.6%

Source: An-Najah National University
Methodology: Interviews with 1,360 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, conducted from Sept. 13 to Sept. 15, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.