Poll: More Palestinians support terrror

61% of Palestinians support, 32% reject "military operations" inside Israel.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
terrorist 88 (photo credit: )
terrorist 88
(photo credit: )
The latest public opinion poll in the Palestinian Authority territories shows that some 61 percent of Palestinians support "military operations" inside Israel compared with only 32% who reject such attacks. The poll, conducted by the Center for Opinion Polls and Survey Studies at An-Najah University in Nablus, covered some 1,360 Palestinians whose age group is above 18. Its margin of error is about 3%. Although the center did not specify the nature of the "military operations," many Palestinians interpret the term as a reference to suicide bombings inside Israeli cities. This is the first poll in several years that shows growing support among Palestinians for launching terror attacks inside Israel. The results reflect an increased trend of radicalism among the Palestinian public. Previous polls conducted by different Palestinian organizations showed that a majority of Palestinians would like to see such attacks restricted only to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The latest poll, too, indicated that over 62% of the Palestinians support concentrating the "resistance" within these territories. Yet, while 42.5% of those surveyed rejected the launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, 36% said they were opposed to such attacks only "because they hurt the Palestinian cause." According to the poll, 36% of the Palestinians believe that "the best form of resistance that best serves the Palestinian cause is the armed struggle against Israel." By contrast, only 13% said they prefer to see a "diplomatic struggle" against Israel through peaceful means. Regarding the political and financial crisis in PA-controlled territories, about 66% of the Palestinians expressed pessimism towards the general situation. A vast majority of 88% of the Palestinians complained that they are lacking security for themselves, their families and properties. The poll also showed that a large number of Palestinians, 73% support the idea of a national-unity government.