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London, May 16: The majority of Palestinians are opposed to the Abraham Accords, the agreements that normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and some Arab nations in 2020, and that just over a half believe it made Israel more aggressive, a new survey suggested.

The latest Arab News-YouGov poll about the Palestinian situation from the point of view of Palestinians on the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, revealed that 64 percent of the respondents said to be against the accords, with only 10 percent expressing a favorable opinion.

The Abraham Accords, signed in September 2020, are a series of agreements between Israel and four Arab countries  — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco  — that established formal diplomatic relations, including the exchange of ambassadors and the opening of embassies.

The Accords, mediated by the Trump administration, were hailed as a major breakthrough in Middle East diplomacy.

However, the agreements have been met with widespread opposition from Palestinians, who believe they fail to address the root causes of the conflict. 

When asked about the impact of the Accords, 52 percent of those surveyed said that the agreement had made Israel more aggressive towards the Palestinians, while 43 percent said they had seen no impact or change, and only 6 percent said they believed the agreement had made the situation better.

The results of the poll highlight a deep mistrust of Palestinians towards a possible peaceful resolution of the conflict, as they show that the Abraham Accords failed to produce tangible improvements for Palestinians.

This mistrust was foretold by former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al Faisal, who said in an interview with Arab News’ “Frankly Speaking” video show in May last year that there is no evidence that embracing Israel has made it less aggressive towards Palestinians.

Prince Faisal argued that despite some Arab countries having normalized their relationship with Israel, the situation in the West Bank and Gaza remains the same.

“Attacks and assassinations of Palestinian individuals take place almost on a daily basis. The stealing of Palestinian land by Israel continues despite the assurances that Israel gave to the signatories of the peace (accord) between the UAE and Israel,” Prince Faisal said.

“So, there is no sign whatsoever that appeasing Israel is going to change their attitude.”

The poll also revealed the most commonly chosen reasons for the failure of peace talks, unveiling a fragmented, complex picture.

The top reason, chosen by 21 percent of respondents, was “Continued Israeli intimidation, settlements, and annexation.”

This was followed by “US bias towards Israel,” chosen by 15 percent, and “mistakes and lack of leadership of the Palestinian Authority,” chosen as the top reason by 14 percent of people surveyed.

While 11 percent of respondents saw the disputes over Al-Aqsa Mosque and the status of Jerusalem as significant barriers to peace, 32 percent of interviewees believed that Palestinian armed militias sabotaging the peace talks ranked at the bottom of the reasons for failure.

These results suggest that Palestinians see a range of factors contributing to the failure of past peace talks and initiatives, including both internal and external factors. However, only 2 percent of respondents ranked the issue of the “Palestinian state’s ability to carry arms and defend itself” as the top reason for the failure.

Interestingly, the poll also revealed that a significant proportion of respondents  — 31 percent  — did not choose any of the six options presented, indicating a level of uncertainty or frustration with the peace process. 

Mangaluru: Congress MLA, who is one of the only two Congress candidates who managed to defeat saffron candidates in twin districts Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in recent Karnataka Assembly polls, said that the party would introspect and analyse the reasons for the poor show in coastal belt. 

Khader, who registered a straight win for the fifth time from Mangaluru constituency, said: “The priority of the new Congress government will be to provide good, clean and transparent administration for the next five years, and ensure peace and harmony in the state.”

He added: “We will not engage in politics of hate and discrimination. We have won the confidence of nearly 90% of the people across the state, and will win the confidence of the people wherever we have failed. While the exact reasons for the defeat in coastal districts is yet to be ascertained, there could be some kind of negative publicity on social media too against the party.”

To a query, Khader said that several projects initiated by the Congress government in the past were not completed by the BJP government, and that they will try to complete the same.

To another query, he said, “We treated all equally, when we were in power in the past, but that did not happen during the BJP’s rule, and as opposition MLAs got a raw deal in the distribution of funds. Sometimes, I think we should pay back in the same coin, but we will not resort to such cheap politics.”

“The Congress will also fight for its right, and ensure that they get all the schemes from the central government. A lot of discrimination is happening, and the Congress government in Karnataka will not let it happen, and will fight for its right,’’ he said, adding that it is unfortunate that the BJP MPs from the state have failed to raise their voice over this.

Bengaluru, May 18: Several top Congress leaders from party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were involved in hectic parleys with Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar which finally helped to break the logjam over the top post in Karnataka.

Ever since the Karnataka Assembly results were declared on May 13, both the leaders started garnering support of MLAs close to them while mustering support for themselves.

The supporters of both, meanwhile, started building up the momentum in support of their respective leader and a poster war erupted.

As the race for the top post heated up, Kharge appointed three observers -- Sushilkumar Shinde, Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria -- and the first meeting of the Congress Legislature Party was convened on May 14. Supporters of both the leaders continued to raise the pitch by raising slogans in support of their leaders outside the CLP meeting venue.

All Congress MLAs authorised the party chief to appoint a leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), who would also be the new chief minister.

Keeping the consultation process alive, the newly-elected MLAs had authorised Kharge to appoint the new CLP leader, after which the scene shifted from Bengaluru to Delhi. The observers also held one-on-one consultations with all MLAs and sought a secret ballot from all of them, the results of which were tabulated and shared with party chief the next day.

In the national capital, the three observers along with party general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and AICC general secretary in-charge Randeep Surjewala arrived and held a meeting with Kharge.

With Siddaramaiah emerging as the frontrunner in the race and after the report of observers, the party leadership asked him and Shivakumar to arrive in Delhi for further consultations. While Siddaramaih arrived on Monday evening, Shivakumar cancelled the meeting citing health issues.

This complicated the situation for the party as it hardened its stand against Shivakumar, who arrived the next day.

Tuesday saw the entry of Rahul Gandhi in the consultation process, who drove down to Kharge's residence and held a meeting on the Karnataka government formation for over an hour-and-a-half.

A series of fresh consultations started once again with Kharge meeting both of them separately, as also with the two general secretaries on Tuesday.

The final round of talks started on Wednesday when both the leaders met Rahul Gandhi at his residence. In the meantime, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah also spoke to Sonia Gandhi, who was away in Shimla on a vacation. Sonia also asked Shivakumar to speak to Kharge and Rahul to sort out the matter, sources said.

The hectic parleys continued from Monday and went on till the wee hours of Thursday to break the deadlock in deciding on the Congress' chief ministerial pick in Karnataka as both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar presenting their cases before the top brass.

The leadership issue in Karnataka lingered as Shivakumar had dug his heels in and asserted that he be made the chief minister as the party staged a stunning victory in the southern state under his presidency.

Sources said after Rahul Gandhi told both the leaders to sit together and work out a solution with Kharge, it was the party chief who told Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to hold talks with Venugopal and Surjewala, and sort out the differences and agree to Siddaramaiah as chief minister, whose leadership abilities and mass support helped him clinch the top post.

The decision, sources said, was chalked out in the wee hours of Thursday when all parties agreed to accomodate confidantes of both the leaders and asked Shivakumar to continue on the post of state Congress chief till the next year's Parliamentary elections.

To maintain his number 2 position in the Karnataka government, Shivakumar was made the only deputy chief minister.

The chief minister and his deputy along with over 20 ministers in the cabinet would take oath on May 20 in Bengaluru, where leaders of several political parties would also be invited.