Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., June 14, 2008 Sivan 11, 5768 | | Israel Time: 13:55 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Golan Heights (Yaron Kaminski) Last update - 21:56 12/06/2008 Poll: Most Israelis, Palestinians see no point in peace talks By The Associated Press Tags: Palestinian, Israel  A poll conducted by an Israeli university and a Palestinian think tank and published Thursday shows that most Israelis and Palestinians see no point to current peace negotiations or the truce Egypt is trying to mediate between Hamas and Israel. Part of a broader survey conducted jointly by Jerusalem's Hebrew University and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, the poll also reveals that opposition among Israelis to handing the Golan Heights back to Syria as part of a peace deal has increased significantly since the announcement last month that negotiations have resumed. T Advertisement he poll, carried out between May 27 and June 7, shows that 67 percent of Israelis are against returning the strategic Golan plateau, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, up from 56 percent in a March survey. On May 21, Israel and Syria announced the resumption of indirect peace talks after an eight-year hiatus, saying they have been negotiating via Turkish mediators in order to achieve the goal of comprehensive peace. According to the survey, 55 percent of Israeli respondents and 68 percent of the Palestinian respondents think U.S.-backed talks between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are going nowhere and should be shelved. A statement said researchers questioned 1,270 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and 1,006 Israelis, with a margin of error of three percentage points. The poll also cast a shadow over efforts to hammer out truce between Israel and the violent Palestinian Hamas movement and stave off an Israeli invasion of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. It said that only 30 percent of Israelis and 20 percent of Palestinians would support a limited cease-fire in which Hamas puts an end to constant rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from its territory and the Israeli land and air strikes that follow. That is at the core of talks now under way in Egypt between Israeli envoy Amos Gilad and Egyptian officials who are acting as intermediaries with Hamas. Israel refuses to hold direct negotiations with the Islamist group, and Hamas does not accept the existence of Israel. Major points of contention are Israel's demand to link the truce deal to the release of an Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas for two years, and Hamas' demand that Israel open Gaza's border crossing. The new poll indicated that even if both those conditions were met, support for a truce reaches only 50 percent among Israelis. Palestinian backing for a broad cease-fire stands at 78 percent, but only if it includes a halt to Israeli military operations in the West Bank, something Israel has ruled out. Related articles: Poll: More Israelis object to Golan accord than to Jerusalem deal Syria: First the Golan Heights, then direct talks Palestinian official: Israel, Hamas still at odds over truce terms Bookmark to del.icio.us   Snoop Dogg in Israel American rapper Snoop Dogg slated to perform in Ramat Gan. Late date Scientists revive 2,000-year-old date seed found at Masada.   1.   Polls are pointless in the Middle East 20:40  |  Moses 12/06/08   2.   What`s good for the goose is good for the gander 21:27  |  Natallie Durson 12/06/08   3.   #2 Natalie now tells us the Americans are terrorists 21:58  |  H 12/06/08   4.   Israelis mistrust Syrians,Pals,don`t want them on doorsteps 22:37  |  Sam 12/06/08   5.   Palestinian extremists vs Israeli extremists 22:47  |  Gili 12/06/08   6.   #2..Natallie 22:54  |  Nemesis 12/06/08   7.   KEEP IT THAT WAY;GOD`S WORD"HIS HAND AGAINST EVER MAN`S HAND" 03:54  |  glenna 13/06/08   8.   Extremists (No. 5) 13:25  |  Yitzhak 14/06/08

Read & React Bradley Burston: Israel's own version of Holocaust denial Responses: 102 'Israel Lobby' authors in Jerusalem: Ahmadinejad not inciting to genocide Responses: 277 Hamas claims responsibility for deadly blast in Gaza house Responses: 184 Palestinian woman films masked men attacking W. Bank farmers Responses: 158 Mofaz: Hamas should be asking Israel for calm, not vice versa Responses: 118 Rosner's Domain Judaism's swing vote: what to do with Jewish singles? What to make of the Journals of Rachel Corrie? (WTR) Poll: When should Israel have elections? Bobby Kennedy and the history of pro-Israel candidates NJDC: McCain's advisor soft on Iran (WTR) More Headlines 12:01 Report: Israel won't condition Gaza cease-fire on Gilad Shalit's release 13:18 Palestinian woman films masked men attacking W. Bank farmers 13:47 Bush 'disappointed' by Iran's rebuff of offer to halt nuke work 13:06 Hamas in Gaza, one year on: everyone in the region is engaged in dialogue 07:34 U.S. pastor apologizes to Jews for 'God sent Hitler' comments 09:28 Graduate student pushes for Jewish state in Germany 09:34 Report: Saudis to up oil output in bid to stave off global crisis 19:50 How to engage the pivotal demographic of American Jewish singles 09:30 The 'torture police' / Every Shin Bet move is watched by its legal team 12:04 Two men shot dead in separate incidents in Kalansua, Be'er Sheva 22:22 Polish priest accused of anti-Semitic remarks won't be prosecuted Previous Editions Select Day 13 jun 12 jun 11 jun 10 jun 09 jun 08 jun 06 jun 05 jun 04 jun 03 jun 02 jun 01 jun

Special Offers Advertisement In the heart of Tel-Aviv The Meier on Rothschild tower Jerusalem of Gold Luxury apartments in Jerusalem's finest location Your vacation starts here Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates Istudy Learn Hebrew in 3 months The Terraces Your Ultimate Coastal Address On Nitza Boulevard, North Netanya Pardes Institute Summer Sessions http://www.pardes.org.il/ Free the Palestinians from: Corrupt Kleptocracy, Tyrannical Theocracy, Abysmal Anarchy Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved