51% of Israelis support the construction of settlements in Gaza

A recent public opinion poll has shown that the majority of Israeli Jews support the reconstruction of a settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip, ten years after the unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the dismantling of settlements.

Quds Press reported the Hebrew news site of the Ma’ariv Hebrew daily newspaper as saying that: “51 per cent of Israeli Jews support the reconstruction of the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip where more than 8,000 of Israeli settlers used to live.”

The occupation authorities evacuated Gush Katif in August 2005 under the withdrawal plan launched by then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Since that time, the Israeli authorities have prevented the entry of any Israeli to the Gaza Strip.

According to the website, the survey was conducted on a sample of Jews in Israel and excluded Palestinian citizens living inside the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948, who constitute about 20 per cent of the total population.