Poll: 59% say W. Bank, Gaza exit would renew peace process

More than half of Israelis believe withdrawing troops from Palestinian territories and dismantling most Jewish settlements there will help put the peace process back on track, according to an opinion poll.

The telephone poll released Wednesday was conducted by the Dahaf Institute and commissioned by the Peace Coalition, an umbrella group comprising several Israeli peace organizations. It surveyed 504 Israeli adults and had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

In the poll, 59 percent of those questioned said they believed a unilateral withdrawal of troops and settlers from the West Bank and Gaza Strip would lead to the renewal of the peace process while 72 percent felt it would improve the country's international standing.

Some 200,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Only 42 percent of respondents said the continuous presence of the Israeli army in Palestinian cities gave them hope for the future.

The poll found that 63 percent of Israelis felt peace negotiations were necessary to resolving terrorism. The poll was conducted before Tuesday's suicide attack on a pool hall in Rishon Letzion that left 15 Israelis dead.