Poll suggests that 41% of Israelis agree with Hamas conditions for Shalit's release

An opinion poll conducted by Israel’s Dahaf Institute has revealed that just over half of Israelis do not reject the release of any number of Palestinian detainees, including those who killed Israelis, in return for the release of the abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit being held by Hamas. Interestingly, 41% accept the conditions set by Hamas for the release of Shalit, who was captured while on active duty against the people of Gaza.

The poll was conducted for the Israeli newspaper Maariv on the 11th and the 12th of May. It revealed that 66% of Israelis believe that Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet doesn’t exert enough effort towards getting Shalit released, compared to just 18% who think it does.

In a surprising result, 56% of those polled support a prisoner swap deal, even if it includes freeing hundreds of those Palestinians described by the Israeli government as “terrorists”. In contrast, just under one-third – 29% reject such a deal.

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