Some 80 percent of Palestinians in the West bank and Gaza Strip support the resumption of rocket fire into Israel if Israel does not allow unfettered access to Gaza, according to a new poll published by the Palestinian Institute for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR).
The poll was conducted at the end of September among 1,200 respondents aged 18 and over. It reflects an evolving picture from that obtained from a similar survey conducted immediately after Operation Protective Edge last month. The results show that West Bank Palestinians are more hawkish than those in Gaza, who continue to bear the brunt of the Gaza hostilities.
The current survey shows that there is declining satisfaction with the achievements of the Palestinians during the 50 days of fighting. Only 49 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Hamas’ achievements, compared with 59 percent in the previous survey. In the Gaza Strip, 59% are now dissatisfied with the war’s achievements.
The survey also found that there was a decline in the public’s belief that Hamas emerged victorious in the fighting. The survey data shows that 69 percent of respondents believe that the organization won the Gaza war, compared with 79 percent in the survey conducted last month. In the Gaza Strip, only 58% say Hamas came out the winner; 22% believe both sides were losers.
With the aforementioned 80 percent of respondents favoring firing rockets and mortars at Israeli communities if Israel does not allow unrestricted access to the Gaza (something Israel is not about to allow), 57 percent also support launching rockets even from populated areas in the Gaza Strip. Among Gazans, the belief that it is justified to launch rockets from populated areas drops to 48%.
Among other findings, only 21 percent of respondents described the involvement of Egypt in mediating between the parties as positive, while 57 percent felt that it negatively affected results.
Opposition to disarming the various armed militias in the Gaza Strip dropped from 57% a month ago to 50% in this poll. In the Gaza Strip opposition to disarming these groups drops to 42%.
The perception of corruption in Palestinian government institutions stands at 78% compared to 81% three months ago.
Gazans in particular have a bleak sense of their current conditions. Positive evaluation of conditions in the Gaza Strip dropped to 9% in this poll compared to 20% a month ago. Positive evaluation of conditions in the West Bank continued to drop as well, standing at 24% in this poll compared to 32% a month ago. Nearly half (44%) of Gazans say they seek immigration to other countries; in the West Bank, the percentage stands at 22%.