Israel settlements

http://www.forward.com/articles/107114/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Email+marketing+software&utm_content=70933068&utm_campaign=June+12%2c+2009+_+iltiir&utm_term=READ+MORE

Jerusalem — In previous decades, an American president who pressured Israel to freeze settlement growth, as President Obama has done, would have riled large sections of Israel’s Jewish population. But public sympathy for settlers and the settlements is currently at an all-time low, adding a new dimension to the sometimes tense relationship between Washington and Jerusalem.

Pollsters at Tel Aviv University found on June 1 that the majority of Israelis are prepared to dismantle the settlements that outside the large blocks that Israel is expected to keep in any agreement with the Palestinians. The same pollsters, who survey the Israeli public monthly, consistently find that a majority of Israelis — almost two-thirds — consider the settlements a liability rather than an asset.