October 17, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Few people in Israel believe an upcoming peace conference with the Palestinians will result in changes to the status quo, according to a poll by Shvakim Panorama released by Israel Radio. 61.4 per cent of respondents think the meeting, which will take place in the United States, will not result in diplomatic progress.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Few people in Israel believe an upcoming peace conference with the Palestinians will result in changes to the status quo, according to a poll by Shvakim Panorama released by Israel Radio. 61.4 per cent of respondents think the meeting, which will take place in the United States, will not result in diplomatic progress.

Earlier this year, U.S. president George W. Bush called for an international conference to discuss peace in the Middle East. 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.

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 UN, the European Union (EU) and Russia.

On Oct. 15, following a meeting with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, U.S. state secretary Condoleezza Rice declared: "Frankly it is time for the establishment of a Palestinian state."

Yesterday, Likud lawmaker Yuval Steinitz expressed concerns about "signing an agreement with Abbas on Judea and Samaria while ignoring everything that has happened in Gaza over the last two years," adding, "We gave up everything and got an Iranian-backed Palestinian army in return."

Polling Data

As you know, next month a peace conference will open in Annapolis in the U.S. between Israel and the Palestinians. Will this bring diplomatic progress?

Yes	22.8%
No	61.4%
Other	15.8%

Source: Shvakim Panorama / Israel Radio
Methodology: Interviews with 478 Israeli adults, conducted on Oct. 9, 2007. Margin of error is 4.3 per cent.