Sharon would lose a party leader contest -polls
Posted on: Wednesday, 10 August 2005, 00:52 CDT
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would lose a leadership battle in his Likud party against rival Benjamin Netanyahu if a vote was held now, two opinion polls showed on Wednesday.
Netanyahu quit as finance minister on Sunday in protest at Sharon's plan to withdraw Jewish settlers from occupied Gaza as part of a so-called disengagement plan from conflict with the Palestinians.
The daily Maariv newspaper said a poll commissioned by Channel 10 television showed Netanyahu would get 42.1 percent of the votes in a leadership run-off and Sharon 27.7 percent,
A poll commissioned by the Haaretz newspaper put Netanyahu on 35 percent and Sharon on 29.1 percent. Uzi Landau, head of an anti-pullout faction in Likud, was on 17.3 percent.
Opinion polls show most Israelis back the withdrawal, but settlers and their supporters say it rewards a Palestinian uprising and betrays Israel's claims on biblical lands.
Jewish settlers in Gaza live in heavily fortified enclaves isolated from 1.4 million Palestinians. The World Court has called the settlements illegal. Israel disputes this.
Source: REUTERS
Related Articles
- Many Israeli settlers would leave peacefully: poll
- Poll finds 44 percent Jewish settlers would leave
- Poll: Sharon could top Netanyahu in national vote
- Sharon narrowing gap with Netanyahu in Likud race
- Sharon accuses rival Netanyahu of "losing his cool"
- Israel evacuates 85 percent of Gaza's settlers
- Sharon on firm ground despite Netanyahu walkout
- Planned Israel Fence Cuts Deep in W. Bank
- Israel Publishes Map of Planned Barrier
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds