Most Israelis favour pullout
2005-08-20 13:14
Jerusalem - A majority of Israelis continue to support the pullout from the Gaza Strip which began at the start of the week, according to a poll published on Saturday.
About 54% of people surveyed by public radio said that they favoured the pullout while 39% said they were opposed to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan. A further seven percent expressed no opinion.
Opinion polls have consistently found majority support among Israelis for leaving Gaza since the plan was first unveiled about 18 months ago.
The new survey underscored the difference in opinion between secular and religious Jews.
A full 75% of respondents who described themselves as secular said they supported the pullout, while among those who regarded themselves as religious 79% opposed the withdrawal.
The survey was conducted by the Tel Aviv-based Rafi Smith Institute among a representative sample of 500 people. The pollsters gave a margin of error of 4.5%.
The evacuation operation, which began in earnest on Wednesday morning, has been suspended for the Jewish Sabbath. It will resume again on Sunday with only three of the 21 settlements still having any sizeable population.
Two small settlements in the northern West Bank also still have to be evacuated under the terms of the disengagement plan, the first time that Israel has ever left occupied Palestinian territory.
- AFP