A new poll has found that an overwhelming majority of Palestinians — 77.2 percent — support the kidnapping by terrorists on June 25 of an Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, and 60.4 percent support the ongoing barrage of rocket attacks upon Israel from northern Gaza. Further, the poll shows that 66.8 percent of Palestinians approve of the idea of further kidnappings of Israeli soldiers and 68.8 percent of Palestinians oppose the release of Corporal Shalit unless Israel frees large numbers of Palestinian terrorists with blood on their hands, as demanded by the Hamas/Palestinian Authority (PA). The poll of 1197 Palestinians was conducted on June 21-22 by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (Independent Media Review and Analysis (IMRA), July 9).

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “This latest poll simply confirms the fact that Palestinians support the belligerence of the PA and the various terrorist groups it permits to operate from PA territory. It is also wholly consistent with the finding of another poll conducted in mid-June that found that 56 percent of Palestinians support terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians inside Israel. That poll also showed that a majority of Palestinians also support the Abbas ‘Prisoners’ Document’ that sanctions terrorism against Israeli civilians and does not call for recognizing Israel and also the so-called ‘right of return, whereby Palestinian refugees of the 1948-49 war and their descendants would inundate Israel and destroy it from within.

“Taken together, it is clear that Palestinians support the Hamas/PA policy of sustained terrorism and refusal to accept Israel’s existence as Jewish state. In other words, these polls make it clear that it is not merely Hamas or the PA leadership that is the problem, but the Palestinians themselves, who strongly and consistently support violence and the murder of Jews. Clearly, unilateral Israeli concessions and other rewards to the PA, like last year’s Gaza/northern Samaria withdrawal, do not moderate Palestinians or induce Palestinians to even start fulfilling their obligations. There should be no US or Israeli concessions or rewards to the PA.”

The Zionist Organization of America, founded in 1897, is the oldest pro-Israel organization in the United States. The ZOA works to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations, educates the American public and Congress about the dangers that Israel faces, and combats anti-Israel bias in the media and on college campuses. Its past presidents have included Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and Rabbi Dr. Abba Hillel Silver.