A new poll indicates a majority of Israelis would pay almost anything for the return of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, an issue currently stalled on whether certain terrorists held in Israeli prisons would be deported outside Israel and the territories. The poll, conducted jointly by the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, found that 52-percent of Israelis support a prisoner exchange for Shalit that would likely include freeing terrorists with “blood on their hands.” Conversely, 35-percent of respondents did not think the government should release prisoners who have killed Israelis in acts of violence.
The Shalit issue is still up in the air with the German mediator meeting with Hamas officials in Cairo. Hamas reportedly expressed outrage at Israel’s response to the terror group’s demands, likely focused on prisoner deportation.
This is the closest Israel has gotten to securing a deal for Shalit, yet it still seems incredibly far off and volatile.
The poll also found that imprisoned and widely popular former Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti would trounce Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a match-up for the presidency of the Palestinian Authority. The competition would see Barghouti at 67-percent and Haniyeh at 28-percent. Even though a majority of Palestinians support PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to step-down (58-percent), Abbas would still garner 54-percent of the vote in a head-to-head match up with Haniyeh, who would garner 38-percent. Barghouti has said he would not run for the presidency from prison and Hamas may have dropped demands that he be freed.
Will Abbas actually step down? Who knows. Will the Palestinians hold elections next year? Who knows. Will Barghouti run? I don’t know that either.