07/14/2008

News / New Research Shows Increased Arab Support for Two-State Solution

Continued violence, frustration obstruct achievement of common goals

By Michael Buchanan and Julie Hyman
Staff Writers

Washington -- Arab public opinion supports a two-state solution to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, according to recent research presented at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Data collected from six Arab countries -- Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates -- shows an increase in public support from three years ago for an independent Palestinian state living peacefully next to Israel, says Shibley Telhami, a senior fellow at the Saban Center, a Washington-based public policy research center.

The research shows that the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict remains important to non-Palestinian Arabs. The percentage of respondents calling it a top priority increased from 69 percent in 2005 to 86 percent in 2008. But frustration has increased for what is seen as a slow process.

“While you have a significant majority believing that they would like to see a two-state solution, the vast majority don’t believe it’s going to ever happen,” Telhami said.

In 2003, the Middle East peace Quartet -- which includes the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States -- presented a road map to Israel and the Palestinian Authority that is designed to achieve a two-state solution, pave the way for Palestinian statehood and ensure long-term regional security. The road map was designed to achieve these goals within three years, but its progress continues to be hampered.

The researchers have theorized that continued violence is partially fueled by skepticism that a two-state solution will be realized, which “is driving the position toward militancy.” U.S. policy has been that violence cannot bring either party the solution it seeks.

To accelerate a peaceful resolution, President Bush launched an intensive diplomatic initiative at the November 2007 Annapolis Conference. The Israelis and Palestinians have been conducting intensified negotiations since the conference in hopes of reaching an agreement by the end of the Bush administration in January.

“Today Israelis and Palestinians each understand that the only way to realize their own goals is by helping one another,” Bush said in a speech January 13. “In other words, an independent, viable, democratic and peaceful Palestinian state is more than the dream of the Palestinians. It's also the best guarantee for peace for all its neighbors.”

Source: http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2008/July/20080707150809gmnanahcub0.7226984.html?CP.rss=true

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