Poll: 62% of Palestinians hold PA, Israel responsible for Gaza crises

A recent poll found that 62 per cent of Palestinians in Gaza believe that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel are responsible for the crises in the Gaza Strip.

The poll, which was conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, found that the popularity of PA President Mahmoud Abbas has sharply declined.

In addition, the poll found that 65 per cent of West Bank respondents believe that they cannot criticise the PA and 32 per cent believe they can do this without fear, compared to 64 per cent of Palestinians in Gaza who said they feel safe when they criticise the government.

Meanwhile, 47 per cent of the Palestinian public say that the PA has become a burden on them and 58 per cent reject the Abbas’ policies and believe Hamas should not hand over the Gaza Strip to the PA.

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The poll also found that 82 per cent of Palestinians wanted the PA to lift the measures taken against the Gaza Strip such as salary cuts or reduction of electricity supplies.

It also found that 54 per cent were dissatisfied with the dissolution of the parliament and 53 per cent view the dissolution of parliament as illegal and unconstitutional.

Sixty per cent of respondents were in favour of President Mahmoud Abbas resigning, while 35 per cent preferred he stay in office.

If elections were held, 39 per cent said they would vote for Hamas and 32 per cent would vote for Fatah. Up to 51 per cent of Gaza residents will vote for Ismail Haniyeh if he ran for president, while 47 per cent would favour Abbas.

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The poll found that 71 per cent of Palestinians believed Palestinian fighters should stand shoulder to shoulder with the official security forces and 24 said they do not want to see resistance fighter.

Meanwhile, 78 per cent of respondents believed that the PA would never stop security cooperation with Israel under any circumstances.

Mahmoud Abbas turns a blind eye on Gaza’s blockade – Cartoon [Latuff/MiddleEastMonitor]