“World public opinion believes that all parties have failed to break the impasse between Israel and the Palestinians,” said Steven Kull, the director of World Public Opinion, the group that conducted the poll.

The poll found that because of all parties’ failure to resolve the conflict, global public opinion believes that the UN should intervene more. A large majority in the surveyed countries said that if and when a peace agreement is reached, the UN Security Council should deploy UN troops in the region to keep the peace and guarantee both parties’ security, Israel and the Palestinians. The poll, conducted between January and May this year, found that large majorities (about 70%) in eight large countries want their governments to remain neutral in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and refrain from expressing opinions or taking stances in favor of either one.

A 71% majority in the US believes the US administration should take an impartial stance. In contrast, respondents in three countries—Egypt, Turkey, and Iran—believe that their governments should support the Palestinians.

Israel also received low marks for its role in furthering peace. Some 54% of respondents said that Israel is not playing a positive role for peace. Only 35% of the public in India said that Israel is playing a positive role, compared to 25% who refused to answer.

The Palestinians received no better marks than Israel in terms of their efforts to further peace. Some 47% of respondents described the Palestinian role as negative while 28% said it was positive. The poll found that a large majority of respondents in the US had critical opinions of the Palestinians’ role.

Source: www.haaretz.co.il

July 2, 2008

By: Shlomo Shamir