A new poll conducted March 5-10 by the reputable Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) shows "Gazans’ support for continued Hamas control over the Gaza Strip has increased to more than 50%, a 14-point rise.”
"Indeed, given the magnitude of the suffering in the Gaza Strip, this seems to be the most counter intuitive finding of the entire poll”, the PCPSR states. However, while Hamas’ continued control of the territory is much preferred to alternative schemes such as restoration of the PA or a multinational Arab security force, support for the party has slipped in the past three months except for its military leader Yahya Sinwar who remains highly popular. Outside the West Bank, interviews in embattled Gaza with residents and displaced persons were restricted to Rafah, parts of Khan Younis and the central part of the strip. The research institute did not deploy data collectors in northern Gaza. Other significant findings in the poll were: Rising support for Marwan Barghouti, dubbed the Palestinian Nelson Mandela. Barghouti, a former leader of the armed wing of Fatah, has been imprisoned by Israel for 18 years on charges of terrorism, The survey found Barghouti would secure a majority of the vote in a three-way presidential contest with PA president Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh. In a two-way competition against Haniyeh, Barghouti would win 60% of the vote. Haniyeh would defeat Abbas by a 70% margin. Hamas’ commando raid into Israel on October 7th is what sparked the uptick in its popular standing. According to the poll, approval of the raid by Gaza residents, who have borne the brunt of the savage Israeli counter-attack, has actually increased during the past three months: "The findings show that three quarters of the Palestinians believe that the offensive has put the Palestinian-Israeli issue at the center of attention after years of neglect at the regional and international levels.” A large majority of Gazans say that even if the Rafah-Egypt barrier were to collapse they would not seek safety in Egypt, in part because most think the Egyptian army and police will open fire at those crossing the border. Support for a two-state solution has increased significantly in Gaza alongside a corresponding decrease for armed struggle, with 62% of those polled now in favour of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, up from 35% three months ago. Support for armed struggle has also declined on the West Bank without any noticeable increase in support for a two-state solution. While Gazans strongly oppose the return of the PA and an interim Arab peacekeeping force, they are almost evenly split on a proposal to have an interim Turkish security force keep the peace following an Israeli withdrawal, subject to agreement with Hamas. At the regional level, a majority of Palestinians express great satisfaction with the support they have received from Yemen and, to a lesser extent, from Qatar because of its mediation efforts. Reaction to Hezbollah’s intervention was almost evenly divided, while a majority considered the response of Iran, Jordan, and especially Egypt to be inadequate. There is mostly scorn for the efforts of non-regional actors, with Russia recording the highest level of satisfaction at 19%, followed by the UN at 7% and the US at 1%. The vast majority of Palestinians were satisfied with the South African efforts to take Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing it of genocide. But two thirds expressed dissatisfaction with the court’s decision that did not ask Israel to abide by a ceasefire. Full:https://www.pcpsr.org/en/node/969#:~:text=We%20explored%20the%20impact%20of,Bank%20and%20the%20Gaza%20Strip. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#29637): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/29637 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/105107489/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
