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PM Ariel Sharon speaks at the Weizman Institute in Rehovot during the opening ceremony of the the annual Rehovot Science and Technology conference Thursday. Public support for his disengagement plan is steadily decreasing. (AP)
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06/10
Ynetnews |
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06/10
Ynetnews |
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06/10
Ynetnews |
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners June 10, 2005 |
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Israeli support for this summer's planned withdrawal from Gaza and Samaria has dropped by 16 percent, with just 53% of Israelis backing the pullout.
The poll, which has a 4.4 percent margin of error, is consistent with a recent trend showing support for the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements is plunging, while opposition is increasing.
The poll of 501 people was taken Thursday after the Supreme Court overwhelmingly ruled the pullout is legal. The survey found 53 percent of respondents support the withdrawal, compared to 69 percent in a similar poll taken in February.
Opposition to the pullout rose to 38 percent from a previous rate of 27 percent. In addition, the percentage of people who said they were "undecided" about leaving Gaza is rising.
Pullout opponents say the drop in public support for the withdrawal will pressure the government to call off the pullout. But Prime Minister Ariel Sharon insisted this week he would go ahead as planned.
In the meantime, dozens of pullout objectors gathered at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv Thursday to spend the night on the street in protest to the disengagement plan, under the slogan "We can't sleep well."
In addition, train traffic near Hadera, north of Tel Aviv, was stopped for several minutes Thursday night after suspected anti-pullout activists placed rocks and an anti-pullout sign on the train tracks.
Lastly, Israel is considering using an unusual new weapon against settlers who resist this summer's Gaza Strip evacuation -- a device that emits penetrating bursts of sound that leaves targets reeling with dizziness and nausea.
Security forces could employ the weapon to overcome resistance without resorting to force, their paramount aim. But experts warn that the effects of prolonged exposure are unknown.
The army employed the new device, which it dubbed "The Scream," at a recent violent demonstration by Palestinians and Jewish sympathizers against Israel's West Bank separation barrier.
Protesters covered their ears and grabbed their heads, overcome by dizziness and nausea, after the vehicle-mounted device began sending out bursts of audible, but not loud, sound at intervals of about 10 seconds.
The AP contributed to this report.
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