An opinion poll published today by an Israeli newspaper indicates that more than half the public there supports an Israeli troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

The poll showed fifty-seven per cent of Israelis favoured a pull-out -- even in the absence of a peace deal with Lebanon or Syria.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, has said he wants a withdrawal from southern Lebanon by July, prefererably as part of a peace agreement with Damascus and Beirut.

The BBC Jerusalem correspondent says it's not clear if the latest round of Israeli-Syrian talks will resume in the soured atmosphere following the latest attacks.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service