New poll: 94% say no to U.S. proposal

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Ninetyfour percent of Palestinians reject President Trump’s Mideast initiative, according to a poll released Tuesday, which also found plummeting support for a twostate solution with Israel and nearly twothirds backing armed struggle.

The first survey of Palestinian public opinion to be released since Trump’s plan was announced undercuts the administration’s claims that opposition to the plan is largely confined to the Palestinian leadership and raises concerns that the implementation of the proposal, which heavily favors Israel, could ignite a new round of violence.

The poll by the wellregarded Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research was published as thousands of Palestinians rallied in the West Bank and Gaza to reject the Trump plan and express support for President Mahmoud Abbas in his efforts to gain backing at the U.N. Security Council for a resolution opposing it.

Trump’s Mideast plan, announced at the White House on Jan. 28, sides with Israel on virtually all of the most contentious issues of the decadesold conflict. It would allow Israel to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank, including Jewish settlements that are home to hundreds of thousands of people and are considered illegal by most of the international community.

The plan would give the Palestinians limited selfrule in several enclaves connected by roads, bridges and tunnels, but only if they meet a long list of stringent conditions.