Majority of Israelis support Sharon on Palestinian state

A large majority of Israelis support Palestinian statehood and disagree with a decision by the ruling Likud party nixing the establishment of a Palestinian state, according to an opinion poll published on Tuesday.

At a previous public meeting in February with US President George Bush, Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that through negotiations "And at the end of the process, I believe that the Palestinian state, of course, will be -- we'll see a Palestinian state."

The poll, published in the Israeli Yediot Ahronot daily, found that two-thirds agreed with the view of Premier Ariel Sharon, who defied his own party and said a decision on the matter should be postponed.

Only 28 per cent agreed with the resolution, proposed at a Likud Central Committee meeting Sunday night by Sharon's rival for the party leadership, former premier Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to the poll, even a majority of Likud voters - 64 per cent - supported Sharon's position, while 35 per cent supported Netanyahu's.

Among the general Israeli public, 63 per cent said they supported the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of a peace agreement.

Among Likud voters however, only 43 per cent said they supported Palestinian statehood.