Y.Verter-Haaretz).The Labor Party has emerged the biggest political winner of the war against Hamas so far.
Labor and its head, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, have made significant gains, bringing the left-wing to a 60:60 draw against right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties.
Just a week ago, before the offensive, the Haaretz-Dialog public opinion poll gave the right bloc 65 MKs and the left 53 plus two for the Pensioners. While Likud actually gained support in the past week, it came at the expense of other right-wing parties.
Labor, on the other hand, is mostly pulling votes away from parties such as the Pensioners, Meretz and the various environmentalist parties.
A decisive majority of respondents support continuing the army's air campaign against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip without endangering the lives of Israel Defense Forces soldiers in a ground offensive.
Only about 20 percent of respondents support expanding the operation into a ground campaign - about the same proportion that supports an immediate cease-fire.
According to the survey, conducted yesterday under the supervision of Professor Camil Fuchs of Tel Aviv University, if the Knesset elections were to be held today both of the main blocs would find it hard to form a government unless one of the parties were to defect to the rival side.
Just five days into the war, though, Israeli casualties have been minimal and there is an overall sense that the operation is a military success.
Experience teaches that the poll numbers could change very quickly with any complication in the fighting. During the first week of the Second Lebanon War, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and then defense minister Amir Peretz enjoyed unprecedented popularity ratings of 75 percent and 80 percent, respectively. Two months later those ratings fell by about 90 percent.
As expected, Barak and Labor are the main beneficiaries of the war, for now. The latest poll has Labor 16 seats,Likud 32 and Kadima 27.
Barak's personal fortunes improved sharply, with 53 percent of poll respondents expressing satisfaction with his performance (compared to just 34 percent about six months ago). A larger number, 38 percent, are dissatisfied with him but that is nevertheless a significant improvement over the 52 percent disapproval rating of six months ago.
Olmert, too, has gotten a popularity boost, with a 33 percent popularity rating this week compared to an average of 14 percent since the Second Lebanon War, about two and a half years ago.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu are also getting good grades from the public for their performances in recent days.
