Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations    

    RAMALLAH, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- A new public opinion poll on Sunday found out that a majority of Palestinians support the formation of a national unity government.

    According to the monthly poll conducted by the Ramallah-based Near East Consulting, 87 percent of the Palestinians want the current caretaker government, headed by Salam Fayyad, to resign in exchange for a unity government.

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formed this government last year after his rival Islamic Hamas movement routed his security forces in the Gaza Strip.

    The survey was carried out on 820 Palestinians in the West Bankand Gaza Strip between Aug. 29 to 31 with a margin of error of 3.5percent.

    According to 79 percent of the surveyed, the formation of a unity government can contribute to resolving the current crisis and split between the Hamas-controlled Gaza and West Bank, controlled by the Fatah-dominated Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

    Meanwhile, the results revealed that 56 percent of the polled back an Egyptian proposal for sending Arab forces to the Gaza Strip to support the Arab efforts for making a reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, while 44 percent rejects the idea.