Poll Indicates 90% of Palestinians Want PA Leader Abbas To Resign, Majority Support October 7 Attack
A wartime survey released by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) reveals widespread disapproval of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in both the West Bank and Gaza. It also indicates a significant increase in support for Hamas following their October 7 incursion into southern Israel.
Conducted by the PSR, a Ramallah-based think tank founded in 1993, the survey is based on responses collected from 1,231 interviews with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza from November 22 to December 2.
Khalil Shikaki, the head of PSR, informed The Associated Press that the results may be skewed due to the large-scale internal displacement of Gazans during the war. Poll workers were only able to conduct 481 in-person interviews in the central and southern parts of the enclave. The survey had a margin of error of 4 percentage points, one point higher than normal due to these factors.
The survey covered various questions related to political affiliation and preferred methods of resistance. Among the Palestinians polled, the majority strongly oppose Abbas’ administration and largely support Hamas’ October 7 attack.
In the West Bank, 92% of respondents want Abbas to resign as president, a change of more than 10 points compared to September. In Gaza, 81% share the same sentiment.
While Palestinians are generally united in their opposition to Abbas, opinions differ between Gaza and West Bank residents regarding Hamas’ October 7 attack. 57% of Gazans believe Hamas was correct in launching the assault, while approval among those in the West Bank is at 82%. Only 10% of those surveyed believe that Hamas committed war crimes during the raid, despite extensive evidence from videos and eyewitness testimony.
Support for a two-state solution, defined as the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, grew slightly in both Gaza and the West Bank but remains at 35% and 33%, respectively.
As Biden Administration foreign policymakers push for the revival of a reformed Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip, the White House’s views conflict with an Israeli government resolutely opposed to such a plan. Prime Minister Netanyahu has publicly reaffirmed that security in Gaza must be overseen by the State of Israel, and the results of the PSR poll reinforce that the PA lacks the popular support necessary to govern.
In the West Bank, where the PA is nominally in control, Hamas’ popularity has risen from 12% in September to 44% as of today. In Gaza, the terrorist group receives 42% support, up by four points from the last survey.
“Maybe the next [Israeli] government will decide that Netanyahu is not right in putting all these conditions in place, and they might decide to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza. But the default for the future, for Israel and Gaza, is that Israel is in full reoccupation of Gaza,” Shikaki told AP, explaining that Israel is stuck overseeing an occupation of Gaza for the foreseeable future.
