Jericho Prison Raid Boosts Olmert’s Numbers
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
JERUSALEM – The acting prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, received a clear boost in the polls yesterday after his decision to order the army to storm a Jericho jail this week and seize dozens of Palestinian Arab prisoners.
With Israel’s general election less than two weeks away, Mr. Olmert’s Kadima party was predicted by one poll to be on course to win 43 of the 120 parliamentary seats, which would be enough to gain control.
Other polls have suggested a more modest result for Kadima of either 38 or 39 seats. But all the polls agree that the Jericho operation was good news in purely electoral terms for the party.
Kadima’s boost came after several lackluster weeks for the party in the aftermath of the unexpected victory of Hamas in the Palestinian parliamentary elections.
The brazenness and success of the Jericho operation, which led to 61 Palestinian Arabs being taken into custody, appears to have reassured voters.
