MIDDLE EAST: Rising Israeli casualties and constant Hizbullah rocket attacks have eroded public support in Israel for prime minister Ehud Olmert and his defence minister, opinion polls showed yesterday.
"Olmert must go," read the main headline in the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper, where a poll showed 48 per cent of Israelis satisfied with Mr Olmert's performance compared with ratings of above 75 per cent in the early stages of fighting. Support for defence minister Amir Peretz fell from 65 per cent to 37 per cent.
A separate poll in the mass circulation Yedioth newspaper showed 66 per cent of those surveyed were satisfied with Mr Olmert's performance, down from 73 per cent. Seventy-three per cent in the Yedioth poll were dissatisfied with the way the government had dealt with displaced residents of northern Israel.
Against a backdrop of intensified international diplomatic activity, only some 20 per cent of those surveyed in the Haaretz poll said Israel could claim victory if the war ended now.