A public opinion poll to be published tomorrow is expected to show Likud forging far ahead of the Labor Alignment in voter popularity less than three weeks before the June 30 election. It is believed that the unreleased poll, conducted in the wake of Israel’s surprise air attack on an Iraqi nuclear facility last Sunday, will give Likud 46-47 Knesset seats to 40 for Labor.
An earlier poll, conducted just before the air raid, indicated that the two parties were running neck-and-neck with Labor barely ahead by 43-42 seats. Labor Party chairman Shimon Peres denied newspaper reports today that he had proposed a three month postponement of the elections. Peres said he told a Labor forum that if the attack on the Iraqi reactor won the support of the entire nation, a postponement should be sought. He claimed, however, that this was not the case.
Nevertheless, the latest polls show a swing to the right by the Israeli electorate. The ultra-nationalist Tehiya movement which opposes the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, demands the immediate annexation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights and suspension of Israel’s staged withdrawal from Sinai appeared to be gaining votes according to the most recent surveys. Former Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan’s new Telem party which calls for unilateral
implementation of the autonomy plan on the West Bank, is losing support. The polls also showed that Religious Affairs Minister Aharon Abu Hatzeira’s new Tami faction would win three to four seats. Abu Hatzeira established Tami after breaking away from the National Religious Party which he accused of not serving the interests of its Sephardic constituency.
Meanwhile, the Surpreme Court rejected an appeal to bar Rabbi Meir Kahane’s Kach party from the elections because of its anti-Arab propaganda. The court said the matter was in the province of the Central Elections Committee.
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