Poll: Israelis Say Barak too Ready to Yield at Peace Summit

Published July 26th, 2000 - 02:00 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

A majority of Israelis believe Prime Minister Ehud Barak was ready to yield too much to the Palestinians at the failed peace summit, according to an opinion poll made public Wednesday. 

Some 57 percent of those surveyed for Israeli army radio said Barak had made too many concessions, 30 percent were in agreement with his proposals, while seven percent said he had not done enough to achieve peace. 

US President Bill Clinton announced Monday that the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on the most contentious issues at the heart of their decades-old conflict, particularly the fate of Jerusalem. 

Barak said during a press conference after the summit collapse that Israel had put forward ideas to "strengthen" Jerusalem by annexing nearby Jewish settlements and in return giving the Palestinians control of Arab villages around the city. 

The poll by the Hanoch Smith institute found that 52 percent of Israelis were unhappy with the way Barak led the marathon negotiations at Camp David, which ended after 15 days without any accord. 

Another 34 percent said they were satisfied with his handling of the talks, while 14 percent had no opinion. 

The poll surveyed 500 Israelis and has a margin of error of 4.5 percent - OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) 

 

© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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