An overwhelming majority of Palestinians — 72 percent — support the actions of terrorist groups such as Lions’ Den, a new poll conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research found.
The survey also found that 79 percent oppose the surrender of armed group members and their weapons to the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a means to receive protection from Israel, and a further 87 percent said the PA has no right to arrest members of these armed groups, whether to prevent attacks against Israelis or to protect them from Israeli responses.
The poll also revealed that if Palestinian presidential elections were held at the time of the survey, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh would defeat PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, with 54 percent of the vote compared to 36 percent for Abbas.
This mirrors the results of a similar survey conducted three months prior, which also showed Haniyeh beating Abbas with 53 percent of the vote compared to 38 percent for Abbas.
If new legislative elections were held, 34 percent of respondents said they would vote for Hamas and 34 percent for Fatah, with all other third parties receiving a combined 10 percent of the vote. Another 21 percent were undecided. Abbas’s decision to postpone elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council until May 2021 was motivated by his fear of a Hamas takeover according to JNS.
The poll revealed that a majority, or 59 percent, believe armed groups, mostly concentrated in Nablus and Jenin, will expand to other areas in the West Bank. Meanwhile, 15 percent believe Israel will succeed in arresting or killing members of these groups, and 14 percent expect the P.A. to contain or co-opt them.
The poll was conducted through in-person interviews with 1,200 adults in 120 randomly selected locations between December 7 and 10, and has a margin of error of 3 percent.
The survey comes amid an uptick in IDF operations in the West Bank after Palestinian terror groups launched a wave of attacks earlier this year that has claimed the lives of two dozen Israelis.