Poll: 54% of Israelis support building airport, seaport in Gaza

Some 54 per cent of the Israelis support a proposal by Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman to build an airport and seaport in the Gaza Strip, Palsawa.com reported an Israeli poll showing.

These Israelis support building the airport and the seaport, the poll showed, in return for a halt in the manufacture of rockets by Hamas, as well as for the group to refrain from digging tunnels.

The poll, which was conducted by an opinion survey institute in Tel Aviv University, showed that 43 per cent of Israelis object Lieberman’s proposal.

Meanwhile, 67 per cent of the Israelis believed that the Israeli army is able to eradicate Hamas; while 30.5 per cent of them believe this would cause chaos in the territory, 22 per cent believe this would allow Israel to control Gaza.

If the Israeli army destroyed Hamas in Gaza, 21 per cent of the Israelis believe Daesh, Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups would emerge there, while 15 per cent believe that Fatah would replace Hamas.

Of the Arabs polled, 70 per cent believed that Israel is unable to destroy Hamas and 28 per cent believe if this happened chaos would prevail in the Strip.

Only 53.3 per cent of those polled believe the current state of peace would remain in the long term, while 41 per cent thing the situation may change.

Some 46 per cent of Israelis support the annexation of the occupied West Bank, 42 per cent oppose it and 76 per cent of the Arabs in Israel reject the move.