NEW YORK – Just as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said that because Israel is governed by the rule of law, he will dismantle Jewish “outposts” in Judea-Samaria, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is urging him to dismantle the much more numerous illegal Palestinian Arab outposts and settlements in those territories and in eastern Jerusalem.

The Israeli government has previously estimated that Arabs are building at ten times the rate of Jews in Judea-Samaria.

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said: “To tear down Jewish buildings, yet leave intact the much larger number of illegal Palestinian Arab buildings and homes, suggests a deplorable double standard.”

A poll carried out by John McLaughlin & Associates among a scientific sample of 1,000 American adults on May 21, 2003, found:

* 61% Say Jewish Construction in Territories Should be Permitted: Asked if both Jews and Arabs should be allowed to build in the territories, as they do now, or if Jews should be prevented from building there (as the Road Map proposes), 61.5% said both Jews and Arabs should be allowed to build; only 13.5% said that only Arabs should be allowed.

* 63% Say Jews Should Be Allowed to Live in Territories: Asked if both Jews and Arabs should be allowed to live in the territories, as they do now, or if only Arabs should be allowed to live there, 63.3% said both Jews and Arabs should be allowed; only 9% said that only Arabs should be allowed.

* Only 10% Say “Settlements” Are Main Obstacle to Peace: Asked what is the “main obstacle to peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs” and given four choices —the ongoing Arab violence; Palestinian Arab non-recognition of Israel; Israel’s anti-terror tactics; and the existence of Jewish communities in the territories— only 10% blamed the Jewish communities as the main obstacle to peace.

* 64% Oppose Expelling Jews from the Territories: Asked if Jewish residents of the territories should be expelled (as the Palestinian Authority and the Road Map propose), 64.1% said they “disagree” or “strongly disagree” with expulsion. Only 16.5% “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” with the idea of expelling them.

* Almost 2-1 Say Jews Have Strongest Historical Claim to Land: Asked whether the Jews or the Arabs have “the strongest historical claim” to Judea-Samaria and Gaza, 31.1% said the Jews; only 18.8% said the Arabs (the remainder were undecided or declined to answer).