The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a nutshell (Doni Remba)

From Doni Remba, co-founder of Chicago-area Peace Now:

Everybody loves violence! Here's the conflict in a nutshell..

"Poll: Majority of Palestinians back kidnappings, Qassam fire"
(Haaretz - July 9, 2006)

Of the 1,197 respondents from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 66.8 percent expressed support for further kidnappings of Israeli civilians while 77.2 percent backed the Kerem Shalom tunnel operation and subsequent kidnapping of Israel Defense Forces Corporal Gilad Shalit.
Nonetheless, just 47.7 percent of those polled said they believed the Shalit affair would end positively for the Palestinian side.
The poll also showed that 60 percent of the public supports the continued Qassam rocket fire into Israel as opposed to 36 percent who oppose.

"Most Israelis want Hamas leaders assassinated: poll"
(Washington Post / Reuters - July 7, 2006)

The vast majority of Israelis believe the Jewish state should assassinate leaders of the governing Palestinian movement Hamas in response to the crisis in Gaza, a newspaper poll published on Friday showed.
The survey in the Maariv daily showed 82 percent of Israelis favored killing leaders of the Islamic militant group, whom Israel holds responsible for the abduction of a soldier on June 25 in a cross-border raid from Gaza and recent rocket attacks.
Respondents were questioned on Wednesday, the day before Israeli tanks and troops pushed into northern Gaza, taking over areas Israel abandoned last year after 38 years of occupation.
The offensive aims to bring home Corporal Gilad Shalit and halt militant rocket fire into the Jewish state from Gaza.

--Jeff Weintraub

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Haaretz
July 9, 2006
Poll: Majority of Palestinians back kidnappings, Qassam fire
By Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent

A sizable majority of Palestinians support the continued kidnappings of Israelis as well as persistent Qassam rocket fire as a means to pressure Israel to release Palestinian prisoners, according to a new poll commissioned by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center, the results of which were released Sunday.

Of the 1,197 respondents from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 66.8 percent expressed support for further kidnappings of Israeli civilians while 77.2 percent backed the Kerem Shalom tunnel operation and subsequent kidnapping of Israel Defense Forces Corporal Gilad Shalit.

Nonetheless, just 47.7 percent of those polled said they believed the Shalit affair would end positively for the Palestinian side.

The poll also showed that 60 percent of the public supports the continued Qassam rocket fire into Israel as opposed to 36 percent who oppose.

Public support for Hamas marked a slight improvement compared to last month - 33.1 percent compared to 30.8 percent one month ago - while support for Fatah weakened a bit from 33.2 percent last month to 32.2 percent today.

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Washington Post
July 7, 2006
Most Israelis want Hamas leaders assassinated: poll

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The vast majority of Israelis believe the Jewish state should assassinate leaders of the governing Palestinian movement Hamas in response to the crisis in Gaza, a newspaper poll published on Friday showed.

The survey in the Maariv daily showed 82 percent of Israelis favored killing leaders of the Islamic militant group, whom Israel holds responsible for the abduction of a soldier on June 25 in a cross-border raid from Gaza and recent rocket attacks.

Respondents were questioned on Wednesday, the day before Israeli tanks and troops pushed into northern Gaza, taking over areas Israel abandoned last year after 38 years of occupation.

The offensive aims to bring home Corporal Gilad Shalit and halt militant rocket fire into the Jewish state from Gaza.

Israel has hinted it might assassinate Hamas leaders unless Shalit is freed. In a clear warning, an Israeli helicopter gunship wrecked the empty Gaza office of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas a few hours before dawn on Sunday.

Hamas, which is sworn to destroy Israel, took over the Palestinian government in March after winning January elections. It is already reeling under a Western aid embargo imposed because it refuses to recognize the Jewish state and disarm.

The poll showed 47 percent of respondents were unhappy with the overall performance of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, compared to 43 percent who gave a positive review. There were no comparisons from previous polls.

New Defense Minister Amir Peretz's approval rating was low, with only 28 percent of respondents saying he was doing a good job, while 64 percent said he was not.