Israelis support bombing Iran over nukes

JERUSALEM, June 14 (UPI) -- A majority of Israeli support bombing Iran's nuclear facilities if Tehran cannot be persuaded from developing nuclear weapons, a poll released Sunday indicates.

The Hebrew University poll found 52 percent of Israelis say the country should bomb Iran's nuclear reactor, while 35 percent say they are opposed, CNN reported.

Among Palestinians, 43 percent said it would be good for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, while 33 percent said if would be bad for the Arab world, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah said.

The Hebrew University poll was released shortly before Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel wants peace with its neighbors.

"We want to achieve peace with the Palestinians and with the countries of the Arab world, while attempting to reach maximum understanding with the United States and our friends around the world," Netanyahu said, announcing the speech. "My aspiration is to achieve a stable peace that rests on a solid foundation of security for the state of Israel and its citizens."

Hebrew University surveyed 606 adult Israelis by phone between May 24 and June 3. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. The Palestinian sample size was 1,270 adults between May 21 and 23. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.