Two thirds of Israelis: Israel should have finished off Hamas
There might be someone out there who is surprised at this poll, but if there is, that person probably voted for the Left in the last election. A survey shows that two thirds of Israelis believe that Israel suspended Operation Cast Lead too soon, and that it should have finished off Hamas while it had the chance. On the other hand, only 30% of Israelis back 're-occupying' Gaza in the event that 'Palestinian' rocket fire continues. I don't see a contradiction between those two positions. Having expelled all the Jews from Gaza, most Israelis do not wish to return there and risk their lives to maintain order among the 'Palestinians.' Therefore, they want to finish off Hamas in the (unfortunately mistaken) hope that doing so will mean that whatever replaces Hamas will not hate us (as much).There are also some more interesting tidbits in this poll. Only 48% of Israelis, support a permanent cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas (they want to maintain the ability to overthrow Hamas). 75% of 'Palestinians' back such an agreement (they are tired of dealing with the IDF). But here's the most curious part:
Concerning Palestinian statehood, both Israelis and Palestinians saw prospects as bleak. Both also said they opposed final status negotiations before 'Road-map' conditions are met: that Palestinians renounce violence and Israelis stop settlement building.I suspect what that means is that each side wants the other side's conditions to be met, but what it shows is that Bush's Annapolis approach of going straight to a final status negotiation - which is what the Obama administration appears to be trying to adopt as well - is all wrong in the minds of people on both sides. Perhaps the 'leaders' need to realize that you can't put a time limit on negotiations?
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:27 PM
2 Comments:
Carl - when even Ehud Olmert admits the Palestinians aren't as forthcoming as the Israelis, you know as well as I do there is no way the spirit of Annapolis can be achieved in our generation. And I don't want to see a Palestinian reichlet ever arise in the Land Of Israel. There is no way such a tiny land can support two separate countries - and the Palestinians are not interested in separating from the Jews. They want them dead, as illustrated so graphically in the murder of two policemen in Judea and Samaria yesterday.
As soon as I heard the name "cast lead" I knew it would also fail. When they have one called "Cleaning For Pesach" then I'll know they are serious. Till then, fuggedaboutit!
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