Survey: Annapolis was a big disappointment

New survey shows peace conference succeeded in uniting sides only in the disbelief that it will bear fruit.

By JONATHAN BECK
Annapolis wave 224.88 (photo credit: AP)
Annapolis wave 224.88
(photo credit: AP)
While the Annapolis peace conference has yet to fulfill its promise of bringing Israelis and Palestinians together in peaceful harmony, it has apparently succeeded in bringing them together on another issue: both sides are deeply disappointed with the conference's results. A new survey conducted jointly by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in Ramallah revealed that only 16 percent of Israelis and 11% of Palestinians believe the conference will advance the peace process. Additionally, the survey found that support for a final status agreement along the lines of former US President Bill Clinton's package and the Geneva Initiative has declined since 2005. fifty-three percent of Israelis polled still supported those two propositions, as did 47% on the Palestinian side. Twenty-three percent of Palestinians believe the Israeli and Palestinian leadership will manage to reach an agreement within the timeframe envisioned by US President George W. Bush and representatives of the Israeli and Palestinian sides (i.e. by the end of 2008); in Israel, a mere 8% think a two-state solution can be implemented in just a year. In addition, 32% of Palestinians and 55% of Israelis feel that violent confrontations will not cease and that neither side will return to the negotiations table. The survey included 1270 Palestinian adults interviewed in person in 127 random locations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between December 11 and 16. The margin of error in the Palestinian survey was 3%. On the Israeli side, 564 adults were interviewed by phone in Hebrew, Arabic or Russian between December 11 and 19. The margin of error here was 4%. The poll was planned and supervised by Dr. Yaakov Shamir, and by Dr. Khalil Shikaki, director of the PSR.