A new poll has revealed that the number of Palestinians who support “armed resistance,” including terror attacks, against Israel has also risen compared with previous surveys, and support for the Palestinian leadership is falling.
The poll showed that the percentage of Palestinians who support “armed resistance” against Israel was 35%, up from 30% in a poll that was conducted last year.
In contrast, those in favour of nonviolent “resistance” rose to 30% in the new poll after it was 24% a year ago.
An interesting point here is that more Palestinians now support “resistance”, whether it be violent or peaceful, this is opposed to those who support neither, or in other words are neutral on the issue. As we know, some Palestinians view rioting and protests, which often involve rock throwing, as “non-violent”.
As well as being more open to “resist” Israel, they are also less willing to negotiate with Israel, less supportive of a two-state solution and are feeling let down by their leadership.
Support for the two-state solution has dropped to 35%. In contrast, a poll conducted in February 2017 showed that 49% of those surveyed supported the two-state solution.
Meanwhile, the percentage of those who support a binational state has increased from 18% (in February 2017) to 23% in the current poll. This means there is a 5 percent increase in support for one state for both peoples – effectively abolishing the Jewish state.
An overwhelming majority of 96% of those polled oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state without Jerusalem as its capital.
Less Palestinians today support the idea of a negotiated solution with Israel, down from 37% in February 2017 to 25% in 2018.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s standing among his people also seems to be consistently declining, according to the results. A poll conducted in July 2016 showed that 44% of respondents were satisfied with the PA president’s performance. The current poll, however, showed that the figure had dropped to 39%.
Palestinians’ trust in their political factions and personalities has also decreased, the poll showed. The percentage of those who do not trust any political personality rose to 52% in this poll after it was 40% in another survey conducted in August 2017.
In addition, the percentage of respondents who do not trust any political or religious faction rose to 53% in this poll after it was 42% in August last year.
The poll, which was conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between January 27 and February 2, covered a random sample of 1,200 people and has a margin of error of three percent. The poll was carried out by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center in cooperation with the German foundation Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
