Palestinian support for violence vs. Israel declines – poll

According to the survey, 58 percent of Gaza residents believe in armed struggle, compared to 37 percent in the West Bank.

By YASSER OKBI/MAARIV
Updated: JULY 25, 2018 02:27
PALESTINIAN AND Israeli flags fly over the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
PALESTINIAN AND Israeli flags fly over the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
A new survey by the Palestinian institute Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) in Ramallah reports a 12% decline of those who support armed struggles against Israel.
The survey, which was distributed to 1,200 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip from July 7-10, showed support for armed struggle decrease from 57% in April to 45%.
According to the survey, 58% of Gaza residents believe in armed struggle, compared to 37% in the West Bank. 34% of the respondents believe that a return to armed struggle will serve the interests of the Palestinians and will lead to a release of prisoners and an end to the occupation, while 29% say it will not serve Palestinian interests. In Gaza, 45% believe that this will serve Palestinian interests, compared to 27% in the West Bank.
In addition, 87% of the Palestinians oppose the Palestinian Authority’s suspension of salaries to officials in the Gaza Strip, compared to 5% who support this decision.
The survey shows that 70% of Palestinians see US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” as the end of the “dream of the establishment of a Palestinian state,” with 78% of Gazans versus 65% of West Bank residents having these sentiments.
A third of the Palestinians admitted that they knew nothing about the contents of the deal.
A large majority of 80% view the suspension of international aid to the Palestinian Authority as a method to pressure the Palestinian leadership into agreeing to Trump’s deal.
About half of the surveyed Palestinians support PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah movement, 18% support Ismail Haniyeh and Hamas, and 27% believe another path should be taken.
Only 32% (43% of the West Bank and 15% of Gaza) believe that Palestinian society is heading in the right direction, compared to 60% who disagree.
The poll confirmed a well-known fact: 88% of Gazans say the economic situation has deteriorated, compared to 32% in the West Bank; on average, 54% of Palestinians feel that their families’ economic situation has worsened.
Translated by Yvette Deane.