Almost eight out of ten people (78 per cent) in Israel 'support' or 'strongly support' the peace process between Israel and the Arab world, according to a recent survey by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) Teleseker, the Israeli arm of marketing information group Taylor Nelson Sofres.
Despite this significant majority, just four out of ten people (40 per cent) in Israel believe that the peace process will lead to a 'true and comprehensive peace' between Israel and the Arab world. This compares to more than half of people (52 per cent) in Israel interviewed two years ago (July 2000) who believed peace would be achieved, representing a significant shift in opinion.
In addition, almost seven out of ten people (68 per cent) in Israel said that they believed the major cause for the conflict was due to 'the unwillingness of the Palestinians to accept the existence of the state of Israel.' At the same time, two-thirds of people (66 per cent) in Israel said that they would accept an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, suggesting that a compromise could be reached if effective peace negotiations take place. Interestingly, the acceptance of an independent Palestinian state has increased significantly, from half of the Israeli population (51 per cent) in 1998 to two-thirds (66 per cent) today.
Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that more than a third of people (36 per cent) in Israel said that they would agree to an evacuation of all or most of the Jewish settlements in order to achieve 'a true and comprehensive peace.' An additional four out of ten people (39 per cent) in Israel agreed to an evacuation of 'some or a small number of settlements'.
Additional findings showed that:
All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.
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