Israelis question unity deal

JERUSALEM, May 9 (UPI) -- Israelis are skeptical about an 11th-hour unity deal reached by the leaders of the Likud and Kadima parties, a poll indicates.

The Haaretz-Dialogue poll found only 25 percent of Israelis queried say they believe Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Kadima Chairman Shaul Mofaz were motivated by what would be good for the country, Haaretz reported Wednesday.

Instead, most Israelis say they see the move as one driven by personal and political considerations, the poll found.

The leaders announced their 94-MK coalition just a minute before the Knesset dissolved and promised to enact reforms by the end of the year.

Twenty-five percent of respondents expressed confidence the current system would be changed while more than half said nothing would change.

The poll was conducted Tuesday under the supervision of a professor at Tel Aviv University's statistics department. There was no information provided on the size of the sample, how the poll was conducted or the margin of error.