Poll also shows 55% don't believe Israel should agree to dismantle most West Bank settlements.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFAnnapolis 224.88(photo credit: AP)
Israelis support the upcoming Annapolis peace conference next week, but don't believe it will help bring an end to the conflict, a poll showed Friday.
Almost 70 percent of Israelis support holding the conference, but roughly the same number - 71 percent - believe it won't help move along the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, according to the poll conducted by the Dahaf Research Institute and published Friday in Yediot Ahronot.
Though Israelis tend to support negotiating with the Palestinians, they remain skeptical about the chances for peace and back relatively hard-line negotiating positions, the poll showed.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said the sides can reach a final peace agreement by the end of 2008, but 82 percent of Israelis don't believe that will be possible, the poll showed.
Asked if Israel should agree to dismantle most of its West Bank settlements - one of the key Palestinian demands - 55 percent said no. Two-thirds of respondents said Israel should not agree to compromise on control of Jerusalem, which is another central demand from the Palestinians who want the eastern part of the city as capital of a future state.
The poll included 500 respondents, and had a margin of error of 4.5 percent.
A poll taken among Palestinians and released this week showed similar results - support for the conference but little expectation it will produce results.
Just over 70 percent of Palestinians want Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the conference, the poll showed, but 57 percent said they don't believe it will lead to progress in peacemaking.
Conducted by the independent Near East Consulting polling firm, the survey included 1,200 Palestinians and had an error margin of 3 percentage points
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