Occupied Jerusalem: More than half of Israelis would support peace talks with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas if it recognised Israel, a poll published yesterday said.
The results of the survey conducted by the Israeli Dialogue Institute seemed to suggest Israelis were blaming Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Hamas rival, for a deadlock in peace talks, more than Israel's rightist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Haaretz newspaper wrote.
A peace plan floated on Sunday by a former Israeli defence chief, Shaul Mofaz, suggesting possible talks with Hamas if the group were to drop its refusal to recognise Israel, was backed by 57 per cent of Israelis, the poll showed. It also showed an increasing majority backing Netanyahu.
Land for Palestine
Mofaz, the number two lawmaker in Israel's largest opposition party, Kadima, also proposed giving Palestinians 60 per cent of West Bank land for a state and compensating Jewish colonists to leave these areas.
Abbas had threatened to avoid standing for re-election, blaming Netanyahu for a delay in peace talks stalled since December. He has since agreed to delay a scheduled Palestinian poll after objections voiced by Hamas.
Despite the support for Mofaz's ideas, Netanyahu had also gained greater backing in recent months, the newspaper said.
