March 29, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip believe the continuous meetings between Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert serve little purpose, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. 74.9 per cent of respondents think the meetings are unbeneficial and should stop.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The vast majority of people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip believe the continuous meetings between Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert serve little purpose, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. 74.9 per cent of respondents think the meetings are unbeneficial and should stop.

Fatah leader 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 became the de-facto leader in the Gaza Strip after his organization took over the territory in a violent confrontation with Fatah in June 2007.

In November 2007, Abbas and leaders from the United States, Israel and several Arab countries attended an international conference on Middle East affairs in Annapolis, Maryland. The meeting was brokered by United States president George W. Bush. On Nov. 27, Abbas and Olmert announced they would work towards having a peace treaty signed by the end of 2008, which would include the creation of a Palestinian state. Abbas and Olmert have met in person several times since then.

The Islamic Jihad organization has been launching Qassam rockets into Israel from Gaza almost daily since Hamas took control of the territory. Israel holds Hamas responsible for the attacks for allowing the Islamic Jihad and other groups to act against Israel. In January, Israel completely sealed off its borders with the Gaza Strip and later launched a series of raids in order to capture or kill militants.

On Mar. 26, in two separate statements, Abbas and Olmert said they still believe it is possible to reach a peace deal by the end of this year. Olmert stressed that Israel is "absolutely determined" to continue peace talks with Abbas, and that the two parties might have a preliminary outline of the two-state solution this year. For his part, Abbas said that although "there are many obstacles on the road, (...) our hope is that these obstacles will be removed, and we are all anxious to achieve results [this year]."

Polling Data

With regard to meetings between Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, do you see them as beneficial and should be continued, or do you see them unbeneficial and should be stopped?

Beneficial, and should continue	21.4%
Unbeneficial and should stop	74.9%
Not sure	3.7%

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. 13 to Mar. 15, 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.