News Brief13:51 PM

(IsraelNN.com) Sixty-four percent of respondents in a poll support direct talks between the government and Hamas in order to free kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. The Haaretz-Dialog survey showed that only 28 percent of the respondents opposed direct negotiations. The poll shows a general frustration with the seven-year rocket siege on Sderot and surrounding areas.

A breakdown in responses according to political party association indicated that almost half of Likud supporters favor talking with Hamas, with a slightly higher percentage in Kadima. Almost three-quarters of Labor supporters favor direct negotiations with Hamas.