Nearly 60 percent of israelis for an independent Palestinian state

Nearly 60 percent of Israelis are for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and for the speeding up of the Middle-East peace process.

A poll, conducted by the wide-circulation daily Maariv, showed that 59 percent of Israelis are for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, 36 percent are against and 5 percent refused to answer.

Out of the 544 peopled polled, 55 percent wish that negotiations with the Palestinians be accelerated.