A study by a Palestinian agency suggests further problems with prospects for US administration of Gaza, and raises questions about Israel’s intention to eliminate the Palestinian Islamist movement’s military and governmental capabilities.
Washington, based in the occupied West Bank, has called on the PA, led by Abbas since 2005, to eventually take control of the Gaza Strip and lead the two territories with a view to a subsequent deal, while highlighting the need to “revitalize” it. Its leadership.
Abbas, 88, and the Western-backed PA, which governs much of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, ruled the Gaza Strip until Hamas’s landslide victory in 2006 elections. Thereafter, due to various reasons, no elections were held. Held in two regions.
The poll’s results indicate a continued erosion of the PA’s legitimacy, and nearly 90% think Abbas should resign, given the prospect of resuming credible negotiations on a future state for the Palestinians.
“Gaza is trapped,” Khalil Shigaki, one of the people responsible for the study at the Palestinian Center for Policy and Research (PSR), told the Associated Press (AP) news agency.
“The next government may come [israelita] Netanyahu decided he was wrong to impose these conditions and decided to withdraw from Gaza unilaterally. But the problem going forward for Israel and Gaza is that Israel is encouraging a full reoccupation of Gaza.
The government poll was conducted between November 22 and December 2 among 1,231 people from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with a four-point margin of error. In Gaza, 481 people were surveyed during the week-long ceasefire that ended on December 1.
The survey also reveals Palestinian perspectives on the October 7 attack by Hamas and other militant groups in southern Israel, which killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians. More than 18,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed during the relentless bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza, immediately launched by Israel, which is now entering its third month.
Shigaki also pointed out that residents of the Gaza Strip are more critical of Hamas than in the West Bank, where support for Hamas typically rises during armed conflict before peace returns, and even though the majority of Palestinians do not openly support it. Militant group.
However, despite the devastation, the survey indicated that 57% of those questioned in Gaza and 82% in the West Bank believed that Hamas was right to carry out the October attack.
Most believe Hamas’ justification that it acted to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem against Jewish extremists and free Palestinian prisoners. Only 10% believe Hamas has committed war crimes, with a majority saying they have not seen videos showing its members engaging in bloody acts.
PSR Institute head Marwan Barghouti pointed out that Abbas is a prominent politician who is a key figure in the Fatah movement and is serving several life sentences in an Israeli prison. In a two-round presidential election, exiled Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh would defeat Abbas, and Barghouti would win a three-way contest, the study said.
Overall, 88% percent want Abbas to resign, 10% more than a survey conducted three months ago. In the West Bank, 92% want the octogenarian to step down as he continues to lead a PA that is generally seen as corrupt, autocratic and ineffective.
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