As Israel rips Gaza, majority Palestinians in support of Hamas; don't see much wrong in October 7 attacks

In what has come as evidence of tough times ahead for Israel in its war on Hamas, an overwhelming majority of Palestinians are in support of the terror organisation and don’t see much wrong in the October 7 attack. A vast majority of Palestinians have denied that Hamas has committed atrocities against Israeli civilians. Support for Hamas has more than tripled in the West Bank compared to three months ago, found a wartime opinion poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between 22 November and 2 December 2023. There is also a wide and growing public support for Hamas’ 7 October offensive. “Findings indicate that a majority of the respondents believe that Hamas’ decision to carry out the offensive is correct, and believe that the attack came in response to “settler attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and West Bank residents, and for the release of Palestinian prisoners,” said PSR. Also, more than 90 per cent of the people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, on whom the poll was conducted believe that Hamas fighters did not commit the atrocities contained in these videos. ‘Israel will not succeed’ The finding of the poll carried out by PSR also indicated that the majority believes that Israel will not succeed in eradicating Hamas, in causing a second Palestinian Nakba, or in expelling the residents of the Gaza Strip. “Indeed, a large majority believes that Hamas will emerge victorious from this war. A majority also says Hamas will resume control over the Gaza Strip after the war. The findings also indicate significant opposition to the deployment of an Arab security force in the Gaza Strip, even if its purpose is to provide support to the Palestinian Authority,” PSR said. “The majority also opposes a role for Arab states in delivering services to the Gaza Strip, but this majority is far less than the majority that opposes an Arab security presence,” it added. Support for President Abbas drops As per the poll, there has been a significant drop in support for President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fateh party. Washington has called for the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA), currently led by Abbas, to eventually assume control of Gaza and run both territories as a precursor to statehood. However, there has been a growing demand for the dissolution of PA with nearly 60 per cent of those surveyed saying in its favour. Also, 90 per cent of people, most from the West Bank, have been demanding Abbas’s resignation. Despite the decline in support for Fatah and Abbas, the most popular Palestinian figure remains Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader. Interestingly, Barghouti is still more popular than Hamas’ candidate Ismail Haniyeh or any other. Lack of confidence in US and European talk The poll also found out there has been a lack of confidence in the seriousness of US and European talk about reviving the two-state solution. On the contrary, support for this solution has increased slightly in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This increase seems to come especially from those who believe that the US and European talk about the two-state solution is indeed serious.