Extraordinarily few Palestinians (16.9 percent) accept even the objective of a two-state solution, that is, the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel. A full 77.9 percent prefer the establishment of a Palestinian state ''in all of Palestine,'' essentially calling for Israel's destruction.

Palestinians were no less incremental on a tactical level. When asked their preference for an interim solution, more than 40 percent dismissed the idea out of hand, opting instead to ''continue the struggle for . . . a state in all of Palestine.'' And those Americans who believe that the obduracy of the right-wing Likud is the principal stumbling block in the peace process should take note that nearly three out of four people interviewed (73.9 percent) said there was ''no possibility'' for a peaceful and just solution to the Palestinian problem regardless of which Israeli political party is in power.

Lastly, when asked to pick among a list of ''justifiable'' acts of violence, most Palestinians interviewed commended such deeds as the 1978 hijacking of an Israeli bus (87.6 percent) and the bombing of an El Al plane (60.5 percent). More than one-third of those polled (36.9 percent) even supported the brutal killing of civilian passengers in the Vienna and Rome airports in December 1985.

I note these statistics neither to dismiss legitimate Palestinian claims for political rights, nor to absolve Israel of error in its occupation policy, nor to turn a blind eye to the Kahanist fringe in Israeli politics, whose views are as bloodcurdling as those described above. Rather, these statistics are noteworthy for the dark shadow they cast on the rosy, romantic vision of Palestinian aspirations described so eloquently - and disingenuously - by Mr. Abu-Lughod. (A more detailed report on the poll and its findings can be found in the Middle East Journal, Winter 1988.) ROBERT SATLOFF Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy Washington, April 30, 1988