A new Joint Israeli Palestinian Poll has shown that only 13% of Palestinians support educating Palestinian children for peace in the event of a peace agreement being signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). The poll, conducted jointly by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah, between Aug. 25 and Sept. 1, 2008, also found that nearly three-quarters of Palestinians – 74% – support the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers in order to compel Israel to release jailed Palestinian terrorists in exchange for their return. The poll, of 1270 Palestinian adults has a margin of error is 3 percent (Joint Israeli-Palestinian Poll, September 2008, Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research).

This latest poll finding majority Palestinian support for kidnapping of Israel soldiers mirrors findings in September 2006 by the same pollsters two years ago, following the Lebanon war, in which 75% of Palestinians were then found to support the same practice in a bid to obtain the release of jailed Palestinians terrorists and in which 63% said they were inspired by the Lebanese Islamist terror group Hizballah and seek to emulate it (Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) poll, September 2006).

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “What could be a more telling indication of the lack of interest in peace and reconciliation with Israel on the Palestinian side than the fact that only 13% of Palestinians support the idea of Palestinian youth being educated for peace, rather than for suicide terrorism and ‘martyrdom’ as they are currently by all the organs of the PA?

“This poll result clearly renders it indisputable that incitement to hatred and murder within the PA via the PA-controlled media, mosques, schools and youth camps has molded Palestinian society to eternally reject peace with and acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state. The indoctrination of hatred and violence through textbooks, video games, television programs, sermons, speeches and all the other organs of society have produced a result that is plain for all to see.

“This poll, in addition to clearly confirming findings from two years ago that three-quarters of Palestinians favor the kidnapping of Israelis in order to bring about the release of jailed Palestinian terrorists, simply underscores the fact that concessions to Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA), especially concessions leading to Palestinian statehood, would only help to produce the world’s newest terrorist state. It would be folly for either Israel or the United States to support the establishment of a Palestinian state under such conditions and it is noteworthy that the former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon, former CIA director R. James Woolsey and pre-eminent Middle East historian Bernard Lewis have all come out in opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”