JERUSALEM - Most Palestinians and one in two Israelis want to see Barack Obama's administration play a more active role in the Middle East peace talks. This is according to a poll released yesterday.

JERUSALEM - Most Palestinians and one in two Israelis want to see Barack Obama's administration play a more active role in the Middle East peace talks. This is according to a poll released yesterday.

The Israeli-Palestinian poll indicated that 49percent of Israelis and 57 percent of Palestinians "want a more active role for the US in the conflict following the election of Obama for president".

But 31 percent of Israelis and 35 percent of Palestinians do not want the US to intervene, according to the poll, conducted by Jerusalem's Hebrew University and the Ramallah-based Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research.

And 49percent of respondents on both sides are hopeful and expect the intervention of Obama's administration to be successful.

The poll was conducted among 1270 Palestinians in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and among 600 Israelis. The poll's margin of error is three percent. - Sapa-AFP