64% of Palestinians support suicide bombers

A new poll of Palestinians shows most oppose a halt in fighting with Israel, while 64 percent support suicide bomb attacks against the Jewish state.

The poll, conducted by the independent Jerusalem Media and Communications Center, shows 57.6 percent of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip believe a “cease-fire is unjustified in the current circumstances.” Only 34.9 percent felt a truce was justified, and 7.5 percent had no opinion. Also, 64 percent backed suicide bomb attacks.

The poll – conducted Dec. 6-9 – involved interviews with 1,201 Palestinians and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

A 57-percent majority also felt a cease-fire with Israel was likewise unjustified, with 80 percent wanting to see the 14-month intifada, or uprising against Israeli occupation, go on. The survey revealed that 64 percent of Palestinians still support the deadly “martyrdom” attacks launched by the radical Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Perhaps even more surprising is that support for the suicide bombings has slipped slightly, from 68 percent in June.

The poll likewise showed that 71.9 percent of Palestinians believe arresting activists involved in the intifada is unjustifiable. Only 20 percent backed the arrests.

Also, 39 percent of those polled thought the goal of the intifada was to “liberate all of historic Palestine,” which includes all of Israel.

Another 48.8 percent said the aim of the almost 15-month-old uprising, which has cost more than 1,100 lives, mostly Palestinians, was to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and establish a state there.

JMCC was established in 1988 by a group of Palestinian journalists and researchers to provide information on events in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. JMCC’s Jerusalem and Gaza offices provide a wide range of services to journalists, researchers, international agencies, individuals and organizations interested in obtaining what the group describes as “reliable information on the Palestinian territory.”