JERUSALEM
A new survey has found that most Israelis do not view a recent military offensive in the Gaza Strip as a "victory."
Fifty-one percent of respondents said that neither Israeli nor Hamas had won the war, 36 percent saw Israel victorious, while 6 percent believed that Hamas had won the war, according to the poll by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
According to the poll, 56 percent of Israelis said the goals laid down by the Israeli government – destroying Hamas' tunnels and dealing the Islamist movement a severe blow – were achieved partially.
Only 26 percent of respondents said that the Israeli government had achieved its goals from the Gaza war, while 13 percent said Israel had failed to achieve its goals, the poll found.
The survey also showed that nearly 53 percent of Israelis back the resumption of peace negotiations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel has withdrawn troops from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday under an Egyptian-brokered three-day ceasefire with Palestinian factions.
At least 1867 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 9500 others injured in relentless Israeli attacks on the blockaded Gaza Strip since July 7, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Israel has also confirmed that 64 soldiers had been killed in battles with Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip and three civilians by rocket fire.
By Abdel-Raouf Arnaout
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
