Two-thirds of Israelis don’t expect peace agreement: Poll

AFP, JERUSALEM: Almost two-thirds of Israelis believe there will never be a peace agreement with the Palestinians, according to the results of an opinion poll published on Sunday.
Sixty-four percent of the 646 Israeli and Arab Israeli respondents questioned said a peace accord would never be reached, in the survey conducted by the Project HaMidgam institute for the Walla news website.
Twenty-four percent believed an accord was possible but that it would take longer than five years to achieve, while four percent thought it could be attained within five years.
The remaining eight percent were undecided in the poll, whose margin of error was not published.
The peace process between Israel and the Palestinians has been comatose since the collapse of a US-led initiative in April 2014.
Another news from Jerusalem adds: Israel has approved the construction of 98 settler homes in the occupied West Bank and an industrial zone near Palestinian political capital Ramallah, the watchdog Peace Now said on Saturday.
“While world leaders are gathering to commemorate (former Israeli prime minister) Shimon Peres and his path to peace, the Israeli government is creating another obstacle for the two-state solution by establishing a new settlement in the heart of the West Bank,” Peace Now said in a statement.
Peres, 93, died on Wednesday and was buried on Friday at a Jerusalem ceremony attended by many world leaders including President Barack Obama of the United States, which has tried to broker new Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Peace Now spokeswoman Hagit Ofran told AFP that two settlement projects were approved on Wednesday by the Israeli military after being given the go-ahead by Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
“The government’s decision to reward settlers who stole private Palestinian lands will make the rest of Israel’s law-abiding citizens pay a heavy political price,” the statement said.
Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank are viewed as illegal under international law.

Two-thirds of Israelis dont expect peace agreement: Poll

AFP, JERUSALEM: Almost two-thirds of Israelis believe there will never be a peace agreement with the Palestinians, according to the results of an opinion poll published on Sunday. Sixty-four percent of the 646 Israeli and Arab Israeli respondents questioned said a peace accord would never be reached, in the survey conducted by the Project HaMidgam institute for the Walla news website. Twenty-four percent believed an accord was possible but that it would take longer than five years to achieve, while four percent thought it could be attained within five years. The remaining eight percent were undecided in the poll, whose margin of error was not published. The peace process between Israel and the Palestinians has been comatose since the collapse of a US-led initiative in April 2014. Another news from Jerusalem adds: Israel has approved the construction of 98 settler homes in the occupied West Bank and an industrial zone near Palestinian political capital Ramallah, the watchdog Peace Now said on Saturday. While world leaders are gathering to commemorate (former Israeli prime minister) Shimon Peres and his path to peace, the Israeli government is creating another obstacle for the two-state solution by establishing a new settlement in the heart of the West Bank, Peace Now said in a statement. Peres, 93, died on Wednesday and was buried on Friday at a Jerusalem ceremony attended by many world leaders including President Barack Obama of the United States, which has tried to broker new Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Peace Now spokeswoman Hagit Ofran told AFP that two settlement projects were approved on Wednesday by the Israeli military after being given the go-ahead by Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman. The governments decision to reward settlers who stole private Palestinian lands will make the rest of Israels law-abiding citizens pay a heavy political price, the statement said. Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank are viewed as illegal under international law.