Israelis favour Gaza blockade: Survey
June 10th, 2010 - 5:47 pm ICT by IANS
Tel Aviv, June 10 (DPA) An overwhelming majority of Israelis believe their country should stop also the next blockade-breaking aid flotilla to Gaza if there is one.
As many as 91 percent replied positively to a question whether Israel should stop the next ship attempting to dock in Gaza in defiance of the Israeli naval blockade of the strip, according to an opinion poll published in the Israel Hayom daily Thursday.
A strong majority of Israelis (78 percent) also think their country should not lift the blockade of Gaza.
And most (73 percent) now regard Turkey - once Israel’s perhaps closest or only Muslim alley in the region and thus far a popular tourist destination among Israelis - as an “enemy state”.
Only 13 percent support an international investigation into last week’s fatal interception in the Mediterranean Sea of seven ships headed to Gaza.
Instead, a panel of Israeli justices should probe the incident to “learn lessons”, many believe.
Nine activists - eight Turks and one Turkish-American - were killed when Israeli naval commandos opened fire on the Turkish Mavi Marmara after their take-over of the ship turned violent.
According to Israeli military accounts, the violence started when a group of several activists resisted the boarding of the vessel with sticks, knives and other objects.
Israel alleges they also snatched the gun of a soldier and used it to open fire.
The incident has revived the debate about the legality and effectiveness of the Israeli blockade of Gaza, imposed in response to rocket and mortar fire from the coastal enclave at southern Israeli communities, and to the capture in a 2006 cross-border raid of an Israeli soldier who is still being held captive in Gaza.
US President Barack Obama, meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington Wednesday, called for a new approach to the Gaza quagmire and called the status quo “inherently unstable”.
The polling institute commission by Israel Hayom questioned 561 adult Israelis - standard for the country with a population of 7.5 million - for the survey, which had a margin of error of 4 percent.
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- Israel rules out apology to Turkey - Jul 03, 2010
- Israeli troops held for thefts from Gaza aid flotilla - Aug 20, 2010
- UN panel on flotilla raid completes probe in Jordan - Sep 04, 2010
- Israeli government the problem, not the people: Turkish PM - Oct 03, 2011
- UN to assemble Gaza flotilla investigation team Sunday - Aug 01, 2010
- 'Israel will not apologize to Turkey' - Jul 02, 2010
- Israeli report says Gaza flotilla assault was legal - Jan 24, 2011
- More international flotillas headed for Gaza Strip - Jun 17, 2010
- UN team starts hearings in Jordan on Gaza flotilla - Aug 30, 2010
- Victims of Israel flotilla raid identified - Jun 03, 2010
- Activists mull new Gaza flotilla - Aug 05, 2010
- Israel deports activists detained from aid flotilla - Jun 01, 2010
- Israeli cabinet allows Gaza flotilla seizure probe (Second lead) - Jun 14, 2010
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