Palestinians eyeing one state, poll finds

Palestinians eyeing one state, poll finds

A majority of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza view the two-state solution as a precursor to one Palestinian state, a new poll found. The poll, sponsored by the Israel Project, found in a series of questions to respondents that most of the Palestinians have not reconciled themselves to the long-term existence of the Jewish state. Although 23 per cent accept the statement that “Israel has a permanent right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish People,” two-thirds chose the statement, “Over time Palestinians must work to get back all the land for a Palestinian state.” Thirty per cent agreed with the statement that “the best goal is for a two-state solution that keep two states living side by side,” while 60 per cent chose, “The real goal should be to start with two states but then move it to all being one Palestinian state.” Some 854 Palestinians – 538 in the West Bank and 316 from Gaza – participated in face-to-face interviews from Oct. 4 to 15. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

New barrier along border with Egypt

Engineers fanned out along Israel’s southern border last week to prepare the ground for the construction of the barrier and electronic fence. The nearly $375-million (US) project is being undertaken in order to prevent migrant workers from entering Israel, as well as to deter terrorists and drug smugglers. Large parts of the border between Israel and Egypt are demarcated with fencing. The new barrier will be constructed first along the main infiltration routes near Gaza and Eilat, and will include two layers of fencing, including barbed wire. Hundreds of illegal migrants from Africa enter Israel each week. Nearly 11,000 have entered Israel since January, according to Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority. Most are searching for work, though some 200 asylum seekers have been granted refugee status in recent years. Dozens of migrants who paid smugglers thousands of dollars to help them cross the border from Egypt into Israel have been shot and killed by Egyptian soldiers.
 
Rabin’s son presents plan

Yuval Rabin, the son of the late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, has joined forces with businessman and social activist Koby Huberman in order to advocate for the Israeli Peace Initiative, or IPI, a response to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.
In an article published on the website bitterlemons.org, Rabin and Huberman propose that instead of responding to the Arab peace plan, the Israeli government should say “yes” by presenting a parallel proposal to end the conflict – the IPI. The two have spent several months promoting the IPI among political figures, academics and business people in Israel and, at the same time, tested the reaction of Palestinian and Arab figures to the principles of the initiative in an unofficial manner.

Iran accuses Israel

Iran has accused Israel of attacks on two of the country’s nuclear scientists. One Iranian senior nuclear scientist was killed and another injured Monday in two separate attacks in Tehran. The government of Iran immediately blamed the CIA and the Mossad for the bombing attacks, which reportedly were carried out by men on motorcycles. Iranian state television blamed “Zionist agents,” according to reports. Majid Shahriari, who was killed, and Fereydoon Abbasi Davani, who was injured in the attacks, were physics lecturers at Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University. The attacks took place near the university. The scientists were senior figures in Iran’s nuclear program, according to reports. “The Zionist regime this time shed the blood of university professor Dr. Majid Shahriari to curb Iran’s progress,” the office of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a statement posted on its website, according to AFP. Shahriari was reportedly working on a nuclear project for Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency. The attacks come just days after Iran said its first nuclear plant was fully loaded with fuel rods and awaiting several tests before going online for the first time.
 – JTA and Ha’aretz