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Findings of the third quarter of 2010 show a clear majority of two thirds demanding a Palestinian pull out of the direct negotiations now that settlement construction has been resumed.
- The percentage of those who demand a pull out of the talks reaches 62% in the Gaza Strip and 68% in the West Bank.
Findings also show that a little over half of the public supports Hamas’s armed attack on Israeli settlers near Hebron, that attack took place on the eve of the Washington launching of the direct talks. The attack led to the death of four settlers. It is worth noting that half of the Palestinians believe that Hamas’s goal was to derail these direct negotiations.
- 39% believe the motivation was to resist occupation and settlers. A majority of 51% supported the Hamas attack and 44% opposed it. Support for the attack is greater in the Gaza Strip (61%) than in the West Bank where only a minority of 44% supported it. Public support for the PA security crackdown on Hamas in the aftermath of the attack did not exceed 20% with 76% opposing it.
It is also worth noting that the balance of power between Fatah and Hamas, in terms of popular support for each, has remained unchanged since the second quarter of this year. In fact, the popularity of President Abbas versus that of Ismail Haniyeh has improved during this period. This means that Hamas did not gain greater public sympathy despite popular support for its armed attack on settlers.
- Positive evaluation of the performance of the PA public institutions in the West Bank reaches 43% and negative evaluation reaches 26%. By contrast, positive evaluation of the performance of the public institutions of the dismissed government in the Gaza Strip reaches 30% and negative evaluation reaches 31%.
- Positive evaluation of the performance of the dismissed government of Ismail Haniyeh reaches 36% and negative evaluation reaches 27% while positive evaluation of the performance of the government of Salam Fayyad reaches 43% and negative evaluation reaches 25%.
- Percentage of satisfaction with the performance of President Abbas reaches 51% and dissatisfaction reaches 45%. Satisfaction is higher in the West Bank (53%) than in the Gaza Strip (49%).
Findings also show that the public is not optimistic about the chances for reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas despite the recent Damascus meeting between the two sides. They also show that about half of the public still believes that if Hamas wins the next Palestinian elections, the current split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip will be consolidated while only one quarter of the public believes the same will happen if Fatah wins the next elections.
- The Palestinian public is not optimistic about the future of unity between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip: 30% say the split is permanent, 51% say unity will return but only after a long time, and only 14% say unity will return soon.
- Responsibility for the continued split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is placed on Hamas by 15% of the respondents and on Fatah by 11% and on both together by 66%.
Finally, results show that a clear majority supports the Fayyad government decision to withdraw government cars from senior civil servants.
- 63% support and 32% oppose the decision of the government of Salam Fayyad. Support for the decision is higher in the West Bank (68%) than in the Gaza Strip (54%).
The sample size was 1270 adults interviewed face to face in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 127 randomly selected locations between 30 September and 2 October 2010. The margin of error is 3%. The poll was conducted directly after the end of the Israeli moratorium on settlement construction and during Palestinian debate on the future of direct talks. For further details on the Palestinian survey contact PSR director, Dr. Khalil Shikaki, or Walid Ladadweh at tel 02-296 4933 or email pcpsr@pcpsr.org. This survey was conducted with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Ramallah.