Does this even surprise you?!?
(hat tip: LGF and Ez of Ser and Ez)
As I've stipulated before, I don't put much stock in polls. However, these numbers have been consistent for quite some time. I know that because I did a research paper on a topic which required poll results. I looked at the numbers over the past 13 years, since Oslo was signed, and the numbers have been fairly consistent in what they show, which are the results seen here.
Contrary to what you might think, it is actually very logical that a majority supports continued terrorist or militant or violent action against Israel while still knowing that these actions would not lead to a positive outcome for them.
If you are surprised by these results or want to keep claiming that Palestinians wanting to live in peace means the same thing as it does to you, Joe Schmoe Westerner, then you've had your head in the sand for over the past decade, or you've read too many reports in English and not enough in Arabic.
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. (emphasis added)
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. Read the whole article... Also here...
As I've stipulated before, I don't put much stock in polls. However, these numbers have been consistent for quite some time. I know that because I did a research paper on a topic which required poll results. I looked at the numbers over the past 13 years, since Oslo was signed, and the numbers have been fairly consistent in what they show, which are the results seen here.
Contrary to what you might think, it is actually very logical that a majority supports continued terrorist or militant or violent action against Israel while still knowing that these actions would not lead to a positive outcome for them.
If you are surprised by these results or want to keep claiming that Palestinians wanting to live in peace means the same thing as it does to you, Joe Schmoe Westerner, then you've had your head in the sand for over the past decade, or you've read too many reports in English and not enough in Arabic.
posted by Olah Chadasha @ 7/09/2006 10:10:00 PM
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6 Comments:
It would be interesting to analyze why rocket fire has less support than kidnapping, considering Israel doesn't actually respond to rocket fire.
[My guess: Kidnapping means Israelis are being killed/captured, while rockets tend not to do much. It's not that they are "against" rockets, they just don't think it kills enough Jews.]
That's a good theory, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's part of it. I also think that it has less support because those things do more damage and kill more people in PALESTINIAN neighborhoods than they do in Israeli. 9 times out of 10, a Kassam rocket launched falls into a Palestinian neighborhood. That would ruin my support for it. Also, now, Palestinian terrorist have gotten the "bright" idea to shoot those things from inside their houses to prevent the IAF from spotting them and killing them. Some-one forgot to tell them that shooting from inside a house might not be such a good idea. That's my view, at least.
-OC
good points, OC. It is quite interesting that while most Palestinians support the continuation of terrorist attacks on Israel a majority also thinks the Shallit kidnapping won't end up good for them.
I wonder: Do Palestinians have a reasonable goal in mind or have they--or at least a sizeable majority of them--gone completely insane?
No, they have no gone completely insane. It has to do with ideology. I can't really go into detail because this thesis is being worked, and I don't want to fully describe it before then. But, basically it's the concept of "eventual victory". It's similar to communism, where it states that no matter what, if we just keep fighting, eventually we'll win because that is our destiny. So, it's actually completely rational that they support the terrorists' actions yet understood that these actions won't garner positive results for them. As long as the fighting continues, their destiny of victory can be achieved regardless of the negative outcomes that come from it in the short run. In the long run, they'll win. At least, that's the theory.
-OC
wow! Good luck on your thesis! Is it for the university?
Yeah, but it's not my thesis. It's another one of my family member's. He's using that for his doctoral disertation. So, you better not steal it!!! ;-p
-OC
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