CBS Poll: Establish A Palestinian State?

A CBS News Poll suggests that the recent wave of attacks against Israelis by suicide bombers and Palestinian gunmen, which have killed 31 Israelis in three days, may have eroded Americans' limited support for the idea of establishing a Palestinian homeland.

Support for the creation of a Palestinian homeland is now near its lowest point in the eleven years that CBS News pollsters have been asking the question. This week's poll shows 34 percent support the creation of a Palestinian homeland, but nearly as many oppose it.

However, about one third have consistently offered no opinion about a Palestinian state.

Establishing a timetable for a Palestinian state after first establishing an interim state with temporary boundaries is expected to be part of the yet-to-be-announced Bush plan for renewing peace talks in the Middle East.

But the public sees the Bush Administration as struggling to develop a coherent strategy for peace in the region. By two to one, Americans think the president is just reacting to events as they occur, and does not have a clear plan for his policy.

Bush's Policy In Mideast
	Now	5/15/02
Clear plan	29%	26%
	Now	5/15/02
Reacting to events	60%	65%

Current assessments of President Bush's policy are similar to those found in a CBS News Poll conducted six weeks ago.

Still, a slim majority of Americans approves of the way President Bush is handling the situation between Israel and the Palestinians, and one in three disapproves. Approval has decreased slightly since mid-May.

Bush's Handling Of Israel-Palestinian Conflict

Approve           52 %
Disapprove     31 %

This poll was conducted among a nationwide random sample of 892 adults, interviewed by telephone June 18-20, 2002. The error due to sampling could be plus or minus three percentage points for results based on the entire sample.