Israelis against release of Palestinian prisoners for peace talks

Most Israelis reject setting the release of some Palestinian prisoners as a precondition for restarting the peace talks, according to a poll released Tuesday. Nearly 75 percent of the respondents said they are "strongly opposed" to the goodwill gesture aimed at convincing the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table, according to a Smith Research poll. A modest 13 percent said they supported such a measure and 2 percent said they were strongly in favor of it, said the poll, which surveyed 407 people. As for a withdrawal from the West Bank, 68 percent of the respondents believe such a retreat would harm Israel's security, while 21 percent believe evacuating military forces and settlers from the territory would improve it. The negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians came to a stop in 2010 over an expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.