Nearly nine out of 10 Israelis say the army's week-old operation against Hezbollah is justified and nearly 60 percent say Israel should fight until the Lebanese guerrilla group is destroyed, according to an opinion poll published yesterday.
The Dahaf poll, published in the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, found that 81 percent of Israelis want the military campaign to continue. Another 78 percent of Israelis are satisfied with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's functioning.
In a surprising statistic, 72 percent said they backed Defense Minister Amir Peretz, whose posting to head the military raised eyebrows just a few months ago. Peretz, formerly a populist union leader, was considered by many not to have the military experience necessary to oversee the army.
The poll of 513 Israelis taken on Monday was the first since Israel launched an offensive against Hezbollah on Wednesday. The poll has an error margin of 4.2 percentage points.
Israel attacked Hezbollah after the guerrilla group made a cross-border raid on a military patrol, killing eight soldiers and capturing two others. Israel has carried out a relentless aerial campaign in Lebanon and its capital Beirut, while Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli towns and cities.
More than 200 Lebanese, most of them civilians, and 24 Israelis have been killed in the fighting.
But unlike during Israel's 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon, when Israelis were divided over the military presence and public pressure finally forced a withdrawal, this time there is almost back-to-back support for the operation.
According to the opinion poll, 86 percent of Israelis said the current operation was justified and 58 percent said it should continue until Hezbollah is destroyed, even though one-third of the country has been forced underground due to the almost nonstop volleys of rockets being fired on northern Israel.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from