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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: March 14, 2005 |
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Support among Palestinians for suicide bombings has dropped sharply in the past six months, from 77 percent to 29 percent, according to a poll published Monday.
The findings were released a day before Palestinian militants were to begin talks in Cairo on formalizing an unofficial truce with Israel. Pollster Khalil Shikaki, who conducted the survey, said the results put the militants on notice that the Palestinian public does not support a return to violence.
The largest militant groups, Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, have said they would abide by the informal truce declared after a Feb. 8 Mideast summit. The smaller Islamic Jihad, however, carried out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv that killed five Israelis in Tel Aviv late last month.
The poll also found that support for Hamas, which is competing in local elections in May and parliamentary elections in July, increased from 18 percent in December to 25 percent in March. Support for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement dropped from 40 percent in December to 36 percent.
The poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research questioned 1,319 Palestinian adults, quoting an error margin of 3 percentage points.
Shikaki said the poll indicates the Palestinians yearn to resume a normal life after more than four years of fighting with Israel. "This is a major change in attitude. In the past, the public wasn't sure the Israelis would reciprocate )if attacks stopped(," he said, adding that Palestinians now feel a truce will pay off.
At the height of the violent conflict, Palestinians felt suicide bombings were the most effective payback for Israeli military strikes in the West Bank and Gaza and the disruption of daily life by troops.
In the poll, 29 percent of respondents said they approved of last month's bombing in Tel Aviv, compared to 77 percent who supported an August bus bombing that killed 16 Israelis in the town of Be'er Sheva. |
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