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Israelis Support Barak's Attendance at Camp David Summit: Poll
An absolute majority of Israelis support the decision of Prime Minister Ehud Barak to go to Camp David in the United States for the Israeli-Palestinian-US summit in a bid to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, a poll showed Monday in Jerusalem.
The poll result, published by Israel's popular Hebrew daily Yediot Aharonot Monday morning, will boost Barak's confidence before the historic summit and corroborate his claims that he received the mandate to negotiation directly from the grassroots people.
The Yediot Aharonot poll, carried out by the Dahaf Institute, showed that 52 percent of the Israelis interviewed believed that Barak should go ahead with his plan to Camp David, while 45 percent believed he should not and three percent had no opinion.
The poll was carried out Sunday on a representative sample of 502 adult Israelis, with a margin of error of 4.5 percent.
The prime minister is facing the most difficult times since he took office last July, after three right-wing ruling partners in his coalition resigned from his government one after another in a 24-hour period staring from Sunday, dramatically reducing his control in the 120-member Knesset (Parliament) from 68 majority to 42 minority.
The summit, which was announced by Clinton last Wednesday, will try to resolve interim issues between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as the final-status issues, such as the status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, Jewish settlements, borders, security and water.
Camp David, the summit venue, carries special historic meaning for Israelis as Israel and Egypt signed their landmark peace deal there in 1979, the first peace accord between the Jewish state and an Arab country.
According to the poll, 53 percent of the Israelis surveyed thought that Barak had a mandate to make concessions during the summit, while 44 percent thought he did not.
On the eve of his departure for Camp David, Barak resorted to the public in a televised speech Sunday night, saying "I need to stand above all these political differences and all these party considerations and to make every possible effort in the search for a peace agreement which will end the bloodshed between us and our neighbors."
During his lightening trip to Britain and France last week, Barak even said, "Even if I stay with nine ministers and one quarter of the Knesset behind me, we will do it (the peace negotiation)."
Now, Barak has 13 ministers and a third of the Knesset seats in his hands.
The poll also showed that 43 percent of Israelis preferred to holding a new election to resolve the coalition crisis, 39 percent supported a national unity government including the major opposition party Likud, while 18 percent backed a narrow majority government led by Barak.
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