Majority of Palestinians oppose return to direct talks

Opinion poll shows disapproval of PA President Abbas's leadership; mixed views on Kassam rocket attacks into Israel.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Palestinians protest talks 311 (photo credit: Associated Press)
Palestinians protest talks 311
(photo credit: Associated Press)
56% of Palestinians oppose a return to peace talks with Israel while West Bank settlement construction is ongoing, Ma'an News Agency reported Wednesday.
Quoting the results of the latest released opinion poll released by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, 49.4% voiced varying degrees of condemnation for the Kassam rockets fired from Gaza in Israel, but 46.2% showed support for the attacks.
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Almost 87% of poll participants said that they missed former President Yasser Arafat, and in a reflective figure, almost 45% are unhappy with current PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his performance as their leader.
While the outlook on peace negotiations with Israel was generally bleak and  31.3% of those polled expressed a fear of violent resistance against any unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, 46.2% said they would generally be in favor  a UN multinational presence in the West Bank and Gaza "in the event of a final peace treaty with Israel."