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America in the Middle East

Bush, Rice misrepresenting 'Palestinian' intentions


By Ryan Jones
March 29, 2007

The Bush administration is purposely misrepresenting the true feelings and intentions of the Palestinian Arabs toward Israel as it makes a final major push for "peace" in the Middle East.

So charged the Zionist Organization of America on Tuesday in a critical response to statements made by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her visit to the region earlier this week.

Following meetings with Israeli and "Palestinian" leaders, Rice told a Jerusalem press conference:

I think that the desire for peace and support for a two-state solution is far broader...among the Palestinian people [sic] and among the Israeli people than just the two leaders [Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas]. It's, in fact, something that has shown up in all kinds of polls.

That statement stood in complete contrast to the results of nearly every "Palestinian" opinion poll conducted over the past several years.

A few of the more recent poll results showed that:

  • 75 percent of Palestinian Arabs do not recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, and 70 percent in fact support a one-state solution where Jews would be a minority. (Near East Consulting poll, February 12-15, 2007)

  • 67 percent of Palestinian Arabs support Hamas in its refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist. (Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll, September 14-16, 2007)

  • 61.3 percent of Palestinian Arabs support continued terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians, and 52.5 percent support rocket attacks on Israeli towns, even during peace talks. (Center for Opinion Polls and Survey Studies at An-Najah University, September 7-9, 2006)

  • 69 percent of Palestinian Arabs see terrorism against Israelis as legitimate; furthermore, 65 percent support Al Qaeda attacks on the US and Europe. (Fafo poll, December 22, 2005)

Amid such figures, ZOA President Morton Klein said it is disingenuous, to say the least, for the Bush administration to talk of the "Palestinians" as peace partners, and that such a policy will ultimately backfire.

By stating the opposite of what the facts warrant, Secretary Rice is misleading the American public and pursuing a policy which lacks any factual basis and which will lead to another terrorist state while appeasing terrorists and terrorism.

Klein said the Bush administration would do far more good for the region if it would "fearlessly state the truth" and demand a change in "Palestinian" society and strict adherence to already-signed agreements.

It would also more accurately represent the wishes of its constituents.

A poll carried out by McLaughlin & Associates on behalf of the ZOA this week showed that a strong majority of Americans oppose their government's current approach to the Israeli-Arab conflict.

According to the results of that survey, a 45 percent majority of Americans believe an independent Palestinian Arab state would be a terrorist state. Only 22 percent felt the opposite.

A far larger 60 percent majority said that Israel should make no more land concessions to the "Palestinians."

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