At least half of Israelis object to the government's agreeing to a cooling-off period or truce with Hamas, even if the deal included the return of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Less than half of the respondents would approve an agreement, according to a poll carried out by the Truman Institute at Hebrew University.

The weekly Panorama poll for Voice of Israel government radio showed that only one-third back a ceasefire. The survey's question did not stipulate whether the release of Shalit would be included in an agreement.

The Truman poll, coordinated with the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah, also revealed that a small minority of Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza back a ceasefire if it does not include all of Israel.