Poll: 75% of Palestinians back kidnapping troops

Hebrew University-PSR poll finds most Israelis support freeing Barghouti in exchange for Schalit.

By TALIA DEKEL
Gilad Schalit 248.88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Gilad Schalit 248.88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Almost three-quarters of Palestinians support the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, a joint Israeli-Palestinian poll published on Monday found. The poll, conducted by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in Ramallah, also discovered that the majority of Israelis back the release of Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit. ‏ While 39 percent of the Palestinians surveyed agreed that the most ideal way to release one of their own was to kidnap IDF troops, the number rose dramatically to 74% when the question was asked in the context of Schalit's kidnapping. Only 21% openly opposed such a solution. When not referring to Schalit, 59% said they thought reaching a peace agreement was the best way to free the Palestinian prisoners. Only 16% of Israelis oppose the release of Barghouti while a massive 78% support his release, the survey showed. The statistics changed again when removing Schalit from the equation, with 50% opposing his release in an agreement with the Palestinians. The support of his release under such circumstances dropped to 45%. The third significant conclusion of the poll was a consensus between both populations over the cease-fire with Hamas. Support for the cease-fire among Palestinians and Israelis has risen since it went into effect in June 2008. A previous Truman-PSR poll conducted before its implementation found that 68% of Israelis were against the truce while only 21% of Palestinians opposed it. Today, more than half of Israelis want to see it continue, as do 81% of Palestinians. Only 15% of Palestinians and 39% of Israelis are against the continuation of the cease-fire. The survey was carried out between August 25 and September 1. Nearly 1,300 Palestinians were randomly interviewed in person in east Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with a margin of error of 3%. Just over 600 Israelis were surveyed over the phone with a margin of error of 4.5%.