Beneath The Rhetoric: Who Really Believes In This Two State Solution (And Who Doesn't

Tony Blankley writes about the apparent coming together of forces--especially in the Arab world--to make the two-state solution a reality:

So consider this dismal data from the authoritative polling of the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project. The report tabulated the response to the key question No. 60: Which statement comes closest to your opinion? (1) A way can be found for the state of Israel to exist so that the rights and needs of the Palestinian people are taken care of, or, (2) the rights and needs of the Palestinian people cannot be taken care of as long as the state of Israel exists?

The specific percentages are as follows, with the key results being, by 77 percent to 16 percent, that Palestinians don't believe they can live side-by-side with Israel, while by 61 percent to 31 percent Israelis do believe they can live side-by-side with a Palestinian state. Note that all the Arab states are very negative, and all the Western states (plus Israel) are quite positive for a two-state solution. [emphasis added]

According to the actual report:[PDF, p56]

Israel’s Existence and Palestinian Rights

Western publics generally believe that a way can be found for Israel to exist so that the rights and needs of the Palestinians are addressed. The picture is quite different, however, among Muslim publics in the Middle East.

More than seven-in-ten Egyptians, Jordanians, Palestinians, and Kuwaitis believe “the rights and needs of the Palestinian people cannot be taken care of as long as the state of Israel exists.” Lebanese opinion is divided on this issue: Christians tend to believe strongly that coexistence can work, while the Shia community overwhelmingly disagrees. Among Lebanese Sunnis, 57% believe a way can be found for Israel to exist and Palestinian rights be addressed – a far greater percentage than among Sunnis in other countries.

Majorities or pluralities in Western Europe and North America – as well as 61% of Israelis – say a way can be found for Israel to exist so that the rights and needs of the Palestinians are addressed. But this belief has declined since 2003 in Britain (71% in 2003, 60% now), Italy (65% in 2003, 48% now), and Spain (53% in 2003, 45% now).

	Yes	No	Don't Know
United States	67	12	21
Canada	64	11	25
France	82	16	2
Germany	80	11	9
Sweden	65	12	23
Britain	60	12	28
Italy	48	19	33
Spain	45	27	28
Israel	61	31	8
Lebanon	49	50	1
..Shia	16	84	0
..Sunni	57	43	1
..Christian	70	28	2
Turkey	30	45	25
Morocco	23	47	30
Kuwait	21	73	6
Egypt	18	80	3
Jordan	17	78	5
Palestinians ter.	16	77	7

Blankley suggests one reason for the pessimism:

Keep in mind, also, that after Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a Sinai peace treaty with Israel, in October 1981 he was assassinated during a military parade in Cairo. A fatwa authorizing the assassination had been issued by Omar Abdel-Rahman, a cleric later convicted in the United States for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

It would take an unusually courageous leader to sign a peace treaty and his own death warrant in one document.

Which is why in order to really make a two-state solution work, the focus should actually be on the Palestinian Arabs, and what they need to do--not on Israel.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Two State Solution.