The killing of 11 soldiers in the Gaza Strip this week has deepened already strong public support in Israel for a unilateral pullout from the territory, according to newspaper polls.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to pull was rejected by his own party last week, putting pressure on his leadership.
But he is supported by the leader of the main opposition Mr Shimon Peres, who told Army Radio that the surveys today's newspapers show public opinion bakcs the Prime Minister's plan.
A poll in Yedioth Ahronothput support for a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza at 71 per cent, up from 62 per cent before Palestinian militants killed the 11 soldiers in two ambushes.
A survey in Maarivfound 79 per cent of Israelis wanted out of Gaza, either as part of go-it-alone moves or under an agreement with "a responsible authority".
"We have said we have to reach an agreement with Abu Ala [Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie], and he can go in there with the Egyptians and take care of Gaza instead of turning it into a Hamas centre," Mr Peres said.
Mr Sharon has said more than three years of Palestinian attacks on Israelis have shown he has no negotiating partner and must pursue unilateral moves.
But Mr Qurie has called repeatedly for a resumption of talks and the revival of a violence-stalled peace "road map" backed by the EU, United States, the UN and Russia.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday that he planned to meet Mr Qurie at the World Economic Forum in Jordan this weekend, the first such talks between the Palestinian prime minister and a member of the US cabinet.