An overwhelming majority of Israelis say they are increasingly pessimistic about the Middle East peace process, according to an opinion poll published yesterday by the Yediot Aharonot newspaper.
The survey showed that 83 per cent of the 500-person sample said they thought the peace process situation was "not good".
Only two years ago, under the Labour Party-led government of Mr Yitzhak Rabin and Mr Shimon Peres, 36 per cent held this view.
A poll taken six months after the Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, was elected in May 1996 found that the pessimists had increased to 69 per cent of the sample.
The Maariv newspaper, which published another poll of 500 people ahead of the start of the Jewish New Year yesterday at sundown, showed Mr Netanyahu to be second to last in the popularity ranking of Israeli leaders.
Asked who was the best prime minister, 33 per cent chose Menahem Begin, who served from 1977 to 1983, followed by Yitzhak Rabin with 27 per cent, founding prime minister David Ben Gurion with 17 per cent and Shimon Peres with 6 per cent.
Some 4 per cent said they preferred Golda Meir, 4 per cent chose Yitzhak Shamir and 3 per cent named Levy Eshkol.
Mr Netanyahu, the preference of only 2 per cent of those surveyed, was in eighth place, just ahead of Moshe Sharett, whom only 1 per cent described as the country's best prime minister.
In addition, 57 per cent of Israelis say they fear for the survival of their country, while 35 per cent said they think the Jewish state's future existence is certain. Some 8 per cent expressed no opinion.
Some 54 per cent of Israelis said the signing of the peace treaty with Egypt in 1979 was the most important diplomatic event since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
A total of 24 per cent said the peace treaty with Jordan, concluded in 1994, was the most important diplomatic event since 1948, while 15 per cent said they thought the 1993 autonomy accords with the Palestinians deserved that spot.
In ranking Israel's greatest enemies, 31 per cent said Iran was their country's arch-enemy, while 15 per cent named the Palestinians.
Some 14 per cent said it was the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), 13 per cent chose Syria, another 13 per cent selected the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hizbullah and 2 per cent said Iraq.
Both polls were taken of representatives samples of the population and had margins of error of 4 per cent.