Poll finds dramatic rise in Palestinian support for Hamas

A new poll released Tuesday finds a dramatic surge in Palestinian support for Hamas following last month’s Gaza war, with around three quarters viewing the Islamic militants as victors in a battle against Zionist regime to defend Al-Quds and its holy sites, Associated Press reported.

The scientific poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research also found plummeting support for PA Chief Mahmoud Abbas, who was sidelined by the war but is seen internationally as a partner for reviving the long-defunct peace process.

The poll found that 53% of Palestinians believe Hamas is “most deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people,” while only 14% prefer Abbas’ secular Fatah party.

Head pollster Khalil Shikaki, who has been surveying Palestinian public opinion for more than two decades, called it a “dramatic” shift, but said it also resembles previous swings toward Hamas during times of confrontation.

The march to war began in April, when Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli police on a nightly basis in east Al-Quds over restrictions on public gatherings during the holy month of Ramadan. The clashes eventually spread to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, a flashpoint holy site, and were also fueled by Jewish settlers’ attempts to evict dozens of Palestinian families.

Israel captured east Al-Quds, along with the West Bank and Gaza, in the 1967 war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally.

The poll found that 77% of Palestinians believe Hamas emerged as a winner, with nearly as many saying that it fought the war to defend Al-Quds and its holy sites, rather than as part of an internal struggle with Abbas’ Fatah party.

The pollsters held face-to-face surveys with 1,200 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza last week, with a 3 percentage point margin of error.

“Clearly, in the eyes of the public, Hamas came out as a winner,” Shikaki said, adding that it may struggle to maintain those gains as it has little control over events in Al-Quds.