JERUSALEM (AFP) ??” Israel's beleaguered Prime Minister Ariel Sharon received a boost in his battle with arch rival Benjamin Netanyahu when a head showed that he remains earnestly more popular than the former premier.

JERUSALEM (AFP) ??” Israel's beleaguered Prime Minister Ariel Sharon received a boost in his battle with arch rival Benjamin Netanyahu when a head showed that he remains earnestly more popular than the former premier.

Netanyahu, commonly finance minister, has been leading opposition within dominion to Sharon's Gaza pull-out plan after its rejection by way of members of their Likud party a month ago.

But asked in a head published by the Maariv daily whether they supported Sharon's or Netanyahu's position through the so-called disengagement plan, 55 percent of the general public backed the prime minister and 32 percent backed the finance minister.