65-70% of Israelis against ceding Golan

Polls: Most Israelis against even partial withdrawal from Heights, think PM not in position to hold talks.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Golan Heights 224 88 aj (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Golan Heights 224 88 aj
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
65 percent of Israelis are against a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights, even if this would bring true peace with Syria, a poll published by the Geo-Cartographic Institute revealed Thursday. 64% of respondents were also against partial withdrawal from the Heights and a similar percentage said it was inappropriate that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was holding negotiations with Syria at a time when his political future was uncertain. Geo-Cartographic Institute president, professor Avi Dgani, told Army Radio on Thursday that "the people are with the Golan and not with Olmert. A big part of the public is against withdrawing from even a part of the Golan Heights." Dgani was paraphrasing a bumper sticker with the text "The people are with the Golan," distributed during Israeli-Syrian talks in the 1990s. A telephone poll conducted by Channel 2 Wednesday evening showed similar results, with 70 percent against relinquishing the Golan Heights for peace with Syria, compared to 22% in favor of such a move. Also according to the Channel 2 poll, 57% believe the timing of the newly-announced negotiations is linked to the corruption case against Olmert, compared to 22% who don't think there is any connection between the two issues. 58% of those surveyed said Olmert did not have the legitimacy to oversee talks on a deal with Syria, while 33% said he did.