The latest poll on the Palestinian public opinion prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali revealed the following:

• (81 %) of the Palestinians do not – to various degrees – trust the commitments of Israel and its obligations to the agreements signed with the Palestinian Authority.
• (59%) oppose the return of the relations with Israel, (38 %) agree to it.
• (55 %) oppose the resumption of the security coordination with Israel, (40 %) agree to it.
• (52 %) oppose the resumption of the peace negotiations with Israel, (43 %) agree to it.

Beit Sahour –Public Relations’ Section:

The latest poll prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali and conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (www.pcpo.org) during the period 19 – 22 November 2020 covered a random sample of (516) Palestinian respondents representing the various demographic specimens of Palestinians (18 years and above) living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. It revealed that the Palestinians are almost split between agreeing to and opposing the return of the relations with Israel and the resumption of the security coordination with it, albeit the opposition scale outweighs a little.

This poll, Dr. Kukali said, focuses mainly on the decision of the Palestinian Authority to resume the relations with Israel that are terminated since 5/9/2020

in response to the intention of the Israeli government to annex about 30 % of the area of the West Bank with full support of the US administration under President Donald Trump.

Dr. Kukali further noted that the motivation to take this courageous step by the Palestinian Authority was a letter from the Israeli government addressed to the PA confirming its willingness to abide by all the agreements signed with the PA.

Dr. Kukali added that the majority of the Palestinian people, in this poll, expressed however their mistrust of Israel’s intentions, as its actions on the ground speak another language. Nevertheless, the Palestinian people are still hopeful that they will have one day their own independent and sovereign State of Palestine with East Jerusalem it’s capital.

Dr. N. Kukali, President and founder of the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, said the details of the key results of this poll are as follows:

Trusting Israel

Responding to the question: “What is the extent of your trust to Israel’s commitments and its obligations to the agreements previously signed with the Palestinian Authority?” (71 %) said “I’m not so sure”, (10 %) said “I’m not sure at all”, (9 %) “somewhat sure”, (6 %) “quite sure” and (4 %) said “I don’t know”.

Return of the relations with Israel

With regard to the question: “Do you agree to the return of the relations with Israel to their former status as they have been before 5/19/2020, or not?” (59 %) said “I oppose”, (38 %) “agree”, and (3 %) said “I don’t know”.

Reasons of agreeing to the return of the relations with Israel

In respect of the question: “What are the reasons that let you agree to the return of the relations with Israel?”, (5.6 %) said “crisis of the salary payment of employees”, (4.4 %) said “security stability and calm”, (26.9 %) said “improvement of the economic situation”, (9.4 %) “peace and stability”, (16.9 %) “permits and work in Israel”, (2.5 %) “the clearance funds”, (3.8 %) “permits to the hospitals and admission of patients for treatment”, (3.8 %) “facilitation of livelihood”, (8.8 %) said “lifting the siege from Gaza and opening the border-crossings”, (6.9 %) “due to the life connected with Israel”, (7.5 %) “for serving the citizens” and (3.5 %) “no reason”.

Security coordination with Israel

(55 %) of the Palestinians oppose the resumption of the security coordination with Israel, whilst (40 %) agree to it, and (5 %) declined to respond.

Resumption of the peace negotiations

(52 %) of the Palestinian public oppose the resumption of the peace negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel at present, whilst (43 %) of them agree to it and (5 %) declined to respond.

The economic situation

(61 %) of the Palestinian public assessed their economic situation at present as “bad”, (32 %) as “fair” (middle) and only (7 %) as “good”.

Survey overview

Dr. Nabil Kukali, said that the data for this survey has been collected by using CATI, an effective method for data collection in quantitative researches conducted by phone. By this method, questions are addressed to respondents from a previously designed questionnaire. The survey sample is randomly taken in accordance with a long experienced methodology applied by PCPO covering (516) respondents, (311) are from the West Bank and (205) from Gaza Strip.

Dr. Kukali has further indicated that the margin of error was (±4.38 %) at a significance level of (95.0%). The sample allotment with respect to the residential areas was as follows: (60.3 %) in the West Bank, incl. Eastern Jerusalem and (39.7 %) in Gaza Strip. The average age of the respondents was (32.4) years.

The overwhelming majority of the Palestinians views the decision of the UAE to normalize relations with Israel as a betrayal or abandonment of the Palestinian cause, one that serves only the interests of Israel. A similar majority thinks that Saudi Arabia and Egypt, by endorsing that normalization, have in effect abandoned the Palestinian leadership. But most Palestinians also place the blame on themselves because they are divided and have normalized relations with Israel long before others

9-12 September 2020

This poll has been conducted in cooperation with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Ramallah

These are the results of the latest poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between 9-12 September 2020. The period before the conduct of the poll witnessed several developments including a US announcement about an agreement between the UAE and Israel to normalize relations between the two countries. This normalization agreement stipulated an Israeli suspension or delay of the planned annexation of parts of the West Bank. The period also witnessed a rise in the daily number of coronavirus infections and continued stalemate in Palestinian-Israeli relations that followed a PA decision to sever all security and civil links with Israel which led during the past months to a significant financial loss to the PA. This PA decision came in response to an Israeli announcement about the intention to annex about 30% of the West Bank. This press release addresses these issues and covers other matters such as Palestinian parliamentary and presidential elections, general conditions in the Palestinian territories, the peace process and the future possible directions for Palestinians in the absence of a viable peace process. Total size of the sample is 1270 adults interviewed face to face in 127 randomly selected locations. Margin of error is +/-3%.

For further details, contact PSR director, Dr. Khalil Shikaki, or Walid Ladadweh at tel. 02-296 4933 or email pcpsr@pcpsr.org.

Main Findings:

Finding of the September 2020 poll show a great Palestinian public anger with the UAE decision to normalize relations with Israel viewing it as serving only the interests of Israel and as a betrayal or an abandonment of the Palestinian cause and at the same time as a big failure of Palestinian diplomacy. Additionally, the overwhelming majority estimates that the Palestinian leadership has lost its Arab allies as Saudi Arabia will soon follow the UAE in normalizing relations and that Egypt, by endorsing the deal, has in effect abandoned PA president Mahmoud Abbas. Nonetheless, most believe that the majority of the Arab public is opposed to the normalization deal. Findings show that the public blames the Palestinians

themselves for this development: the split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and the fact that they had normalized relations with Israel before many others may have hastened the arrival of this day.

The public does not show an appreciation of the fact that the UAE-Israel deal requires the suspension of the annexation plan. The reason for this is the fact that three quarters think that the suspension is only temporary and will soon take place, the normalization deal notwithstanding. Moreover, based on this assessment, the public is opposed to the restoration of PA-Israel security coordination despite the fact that half of the public wishes to restore civil and fiscal relations between the two sides.

Findings also show a significant decline in support for the two-state solution compared to the situation three months ago. They also show that the consensus in rejecting the Trump plan, the deal of the century, first documented in PSR’s February 2020 poll, remains unchanged. Similarly, the overwhelming majority remains opposed to a resumption of contacts with the Trump administration. Despite the majority expectation that Trump will lose the upcoming US presidential elections, only one fifth expects positive policy change if the Democratic candidate Joe Biden wins.

Domestically, findings show continued satisfaction with the PA measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic despite significant decline in the level of satisfaction, especially with the prime minister’s performance. Moreover, a majority is opposed to the severing of coordination and cooperation with Israel in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus.

Demand for the resignation of president Abbas rises in this poll. Parallel to this, satisfaction with the performance of the president has declined. As a result, if elections were held today, Hamas’ Haniyyeh would win a majority of the public vote. This development might have been boosted by the current economic difficulties in the West Bank resulting from the severing of civil and fiscal coordination with Israel and the resulting inability of the PA to pay the public sector in full. Findings also show a drop in the perception of safety and security in the West Bank and an increase in the desire to emigrate. Despite these developments, the popularity of Fatah in the West Bank is not negatively affected; to the contrary, the findings show a little improvement in its popularity.

(1) UAE-Israel normalization agreement:

• A majority of 63% view the normalization agreement between the UAE and Israel as a major event that represents a significant regional shift while 32% view as minor development.
• Findings show a consensus (86%) that the agreement serves only the interests of Israel while 8% think it serves the interests of both the Palestinians and the Israelis and only 1% think it serves the interests of the Palestinians only.
• We asked the public to pick one word that represents its sentiments toward the normalization agreement: the majority (53%) picked “betrayal,” 17% picked “abandonment” 13% “insult,” 9% “indifference,” 6% “sadness,” while only 1% picked words like “satisfaction,” “pride,” and “joy.”
• Most Palestinians (57%) believe that the majority among the Arab public is opposed to the normalization agreement while 20% believe an Arab majority supports it.
• A large majority (70%) believes that other Arab countries, such as Bahrain, Oman, Sudan, and Morocco, will sign similar agreements with Israel while 24% believe they will not do that.
• An overwhelming majority (80%) believes that Saudi Arabia has given the green light to the UAE to sign the normalization agreement and a similar majority (82%) believes that Saudi Arabia too will sign a similar public agreement.
• Similarly, an overwhelming majority of the public (78%) believes that the Egyptian position welcoming the agreement represents an abandonment of the Palestinian leadership led by Abbas while 18% do not share this view.
• A majority of 55% believes that Mohammad Dahlan was one of the participants in the making of the UAE-Israel normalization agreement while 24% do not share this view.
• Nonetheless, a majority of 53% believes that the blame for the normalization deal falls on the shoulders of the Palestinians themselves due to their division and due to the fact that they have recognized Israel and normalized relations with it long before the others; 42% disagree with this view.
• Also, a majority of 62% views the UAE defection from the previous declared Arab consensus on Palestine as a great failure for Palestinian diplomacy; 31% do not share this view.

(2) Annexation and the severing of relations with Israel in post UAE-Israel normalization:

• Three quarters of the public (75%) believe that the normalization agreement forces Israel to merely postpone annexation while 19% think it forces it to put an end to it.
• Now, after the normalization agreement, a majority of 62% is opposed to the restoration of security coordination with Israel while 32% are in favor of restoring it.
• But half of the public (50%) supports, and 45% oppose, the restoration of civil and fiscal coordination with Israel.
• If Israel conditioned resumption of civil and fiscal coordination with a resumption of security coordination, a majority of 59% will oppose, and 35% will support, the resumption of relations.
• In response to an actual Israeli annexation of Palestinian territories, the public is divided on how to respond. When asked to choose one of five possible responses, 28% favored resumption of armed struggle, 20% selected stopping the implementation of the Oslo agreement, another 20% favored return to negotiations with Israel and the US on the basis of a Palestinian peace plan, 19% preferred waging nonviolent resistance, and 6% selected the abandonment of the two-state solution in favor of a one-state solution.
• The public indicates great worries about the future in case of continued severing of relations with Israel.
• For example, 74% say they are worried that Israel will stop transfer of clearance revenues, which would mean that the PA would not be able to pay the public sector. 75% say they are worried that patients would not be able to travel from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank or Israel for medical treatment. 77% are worried that they would soon witness shortages or complete cut-off in supplies of water and electricity from Israel.
• 59% are worried that armed clashes would erupt with Israel. Another 59% are worried that the PA would collapse or fail to deliver services. 70% are worried that security chaos and anarchy would return to Palestinian life. Finally, 60% say they are worried that they would not be able to travel abroad via Jordan.
• It is interesting to note that despite the great worry, a majority of the public (63%) does not believe that the PA has in fact ended security coordination with Israel and only 30% believe it indeed did.
• A majority of 61% does not expect Israel to resume its military rule and that of its civil administration now after Abbas’ decision to sever relations with Israel and his invitation to Israel to assume full responsibility for the occupied territories. One third (32%) expects Israel to do so.
• A large majority of 75% says it does not prefer the return of Israeli military rule or civil administration while only 21% say they do prefer that.

(3) The Peace process and the US “Deal of the Century”:

• Support for the concept of the two-state solution declines to 39% and opposition stands at 58%. No description or details were provided for the concept.
• Three months ago, support for the concept stood at 45%.
• A majority of 62% believes that the two-state solution is no longer practical or feasible due to the expansion of Israeli settlements while 31% believe that the solution remains practical. Moreover, 77% believe that the chances for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel in the next five years are slim or nonexistence while 20% believe the chances to be medium or high.
• The most preferred way out of the current status quo is “reaching a peace agreement with Israel” according to 27% of the public while 36% prefer waging “an armed struggle against the Israeli occupation.” 14% prefer “waging a non-violent resistance” and 14% prefer to keep the status quo. Three months ago, 28% said that they prefer reaching a peace agreement with Israel and 38% said they prefer waging an armed struggle.
• When asked about the most effective means of ending the Israeli occupation, 41% chose armed struggle, 24% negotiations, and 26% popular resistance. Three months ago, 45% chose armed struggle and 24% chose negotiations.
• We asked the public about the Trump plan, known as the “deal of the century:” 92% say they oppose it and 5% say they support it. Three months ago, 88% expressed opposition to the plan.
• If the Palestinians accept the Deal of the Century, what are the chances that such acceptance would lead to the end of the Israeli occupation and to the building of a Palestinian state? 55% think the chances are zero; 26% think the chances are less than 50%; and only 16% think that the chances are 50% or more.
• A majority of 71% is opposed and 19% are not opposed to a resumption of dialogue between the Palestinian leadership and the Trump Administration.
• Official contacts between the PA and the US government were suspended by the PA after the US, in December 2017, recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Three months ago, 69% said they were opposed to the resumption of dialogue with the US.
• A majority of 61% expects president Trump to lose the next US presidential election and 30% expect him to win it. Nonetheless, only 21% expect a positive change if Biden wins while 34% believe US policy will not change and 35% expect it to become worse.

(4) PA performance during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• A two-third majority (68%) is satisfied with the measure taken by the PA to prevent travel between the various governorates in order to contain the Coronavirus pandemic.
• Similarly, the findings show that the majority is satisfied with the performance of the various entities and individuals involved in the management of the Coronavirus crisis. For example, 64% express satisfaction with the performance of the security services deployed in their areas and 57% are satisfied with the performance of the governor in their area. On the other hand, satisfaction with the performance of the prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh stands at 48% today compared to 62% three months ago.
• The majority indicates that it has been harmed economically as a result of the pandemic: 70% say their income or salary has been reduced; 61% say their income or salary has been stopped; and 52% say they stopped working or became unemployed.
• A majority of 55% say that are dissatisfied with the PA decision during the past several months to stop cooperation and coordination with Israel in the health sector with the aim of combating the coronavirus, 42% are satisfied with that decision.

(5) Legislative and presidential election

• 62% of the public want president Abbas to resign while 31% want him to remain in office. Three months ago, 58% said they want Abbas to resign. Demand for Abbas’ resignation stands at 54% in the West Bank and 74% in the Gaza Strip.
• Level of satisfaction with the performance of president Abbas stands at 31% and dissatisfaction at 63%. Level of satisfaction with Abbas stands at 36% in the West Bank and 24% in the Gaza Strip. Three months ago, satisfaction with Abbas stood at 36% (44% in the West Bank and 24% in the Gaza Strip).
• If new presidential elections were held today and only two were nominated, Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh, the former would receive 39% and the latter 52% of the vote (compared to 42% for Abbas and 49% for Haniyeh threw months ago). In the Gaza Strip, Abbas receives 32% of the vote (compared to 32% three months ago) and Haniyeh receives 62% (compared to 61% three months ago). In the West Bank, Abbas receives 46% (compared to 51% three months ago) and Haniyeh 42% (compared to 38% three months ago). If the competition was between Marwan Barghouti and Ismail Haniyeh, Barghouti receives 55% and Haniyeh 39%. If the competition is between prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Haniyyeh, the former receives 41% and the latter 51%.
• We asked in an open-ended question about potential Abbas successors: If president Abbas does not nominate himself in a new election, 22% prefer to see Marwan Barghouti replacing him, while 18% prefer Ismail Haniyeh. Mohammad Dahlan is preferred by 7% (1% in the West Bank and 15% in the Gaza Strip), Mohammad Shtayyeh is preferred by 5%, Mustafa Barghouti by 4%, Khalid Mishal by 3%, and Salam Fayyad by 2%.
• We also asked the public about its willingness to participate in the upcoming elections and if so, to whom it will vote. If new legislative elections were held today with the participation of all factions, 61% say they would participate in such elections. Of those who would participate, 34% say they will vote for Hamas and 38% say they will vote for Fatah, 8% will vote for all other third parties combined, and 20% are undecided. Three months ago, vote for Hamas stood at 34% and Fatah at 36%. Vote for Hamas in the Gaza Strip stands today at 45% (compared to 47% three months ago) and for Fatah at 30% (compared to 28% three months ago). In the West Bank, vote for Hamas stands at 23% (compared to 23% three months ago) and Fatah at 46% (compared to 42% three months ago).

(6) Domestic conditions:

• Positive evaluation of conditions in the Gaza Strip stands at 5% and positive evaluation of conditions in the West Bank stands at 16%.
• Nonetheless, perception of safety and security in the Gaza Strip stands at 71% and in the West Bank at 57%.
• 24% of the public say they want to emigrate due to political, security, and economic conditions. The percentage in the Gaza Strip stands at 25% and in the West Bank at 24%. Three months ago, only 18% of West Bankers expressed a desire to emigrate.
• Perception of corruption in PA institutions stands at 80%. Three months ago, 81% expressed a similar view.
• The public is divided over its assessment of the PA: a majority of 62% views it as a burden on the Palestinian people while 33% view it as an asset for the Palestinian people. Three months ago, only 52% viewed the PA as a burden.
• A year and a half since the formation of the Shtayyeh government, findings indicate persistent pessimism. Responding to a question about expectations regarding the ability of the Shtayyeh government to make progress in reconciliation and reunification, 60% expect failure; only 31% expect success. In a similar question about the ability of the new government to organize legislative or legislative and presidential elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a majority of 58% expects failure and 33% expect success.
• In another question about the ability of the new government to improve economic conditions, a majority of 61% expects failure and 32% expects success.
• An overwhelming majority of the public (80%) is opposed to the arrest by the PA security services of activists who were planning to demonstrate or were demonstrating against corruption in the PA while 17% support these arrests.
• 56% (66% in the West Bank and 41% in the Gaza Strip) believes that it will not receive a fair trial if it finds itself in a Palestinian court while 36% (23% in the West Bank and 55% in the Gaza Strip) believe that will receive a fair trial. Six month ago, 42% said it believes it will receive a fair trial.
• A majority of 64% (75% in the West Bank and 49% in the Gaza Strip) thinks that the Palestinian judiciary rules according to whims and interests; 31% disagree and believe that it rules according to the law. Six month ago, 41% said the judiciary and courts rule according to the law.
• We asked the public about its viewership habits in the last three months. Findings indicate that Al Jazeera TV viewership remains the highest, standing at 19%, followed by Palestine TV (15%), Al Aqsa TV (13%), Maan TV at 12%, Palestine Today TV at 11%, Al Arabiya and al Mayadeen at 4% each, and finally al Manar at 2%.

(7) Reconciliation:

• 37% are optimistic and 59% are pessimistic about the success of reconciliation. three months ago, optimism stood at 29%.
• Similarly, 41% believe that unity will not be resumed and that two separate entities will evolve in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip while 45% believe unity will eventually return but only after a long time and only 11% believe unity will return soon.

(8) Muslims in China:

• 80% of the Palestinians believe that if press reports about the treatment of the Uighur Muslims in China are true, Palestinians should condemn the Chines policy towards its Muslim community and 15% disagree with that.
• An overwhelming majority of 79% indicates that it does not believe the statement of the Chinese government that the camps built by China to allegedly detain the Uighur Muslims are in fact teaching centers aiming at eradicating extremism; 10% believe the Chinese statement.
• Similarly, an overwhelming majority of 83% believes that world Muslims should express solidarity with the Uighur Muslims against the Chinese government while 10% disagree with that.
• An overwhelming majority of 80% approves of the Turkish president Erdogan’s decision to transform the Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque; 16% disapprove.

(9) Most vital Palestinian goals and the main problems confronting Palestinians today:

• 42% believe that the first most vital Palestinian goal should be to end Israeli occupation in the areas occupied in 1967 and build a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital. By contrast, 29% believe the first most vital goal should be to obtain the right of return of refugees to their 1948 towns and villages, 15% believe that the first and most vital goal should be to build a pious or moral individual and a religious society, one that applies all Islamic teachings; 13% believe it should be to establish a democratic political system that respects freedoms and rights of Palestinians.
• The most serious problem confronting Palestinian society today is poverty and unemployment in the eyes of 27%, the spread of corruption in public institutions in the eyes of 25%, the continuation of occupation and settlement activities in the eyes of 24%, the continued siege of the Gaza Strip and the closure of its crossings in the eyes of 13%, and the lack of national unity in the eyes of 10%.

The latest poll on the Palestinian public opinion prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali revealed the following:

• (55.5%) believe that the decision of the Palestinian Authority to end the security and civil coordination with Israel was a right decision, (49.1 %) are among the residents of the West Bank, and (65 %) residents of Gaza Strip.

• (52.3%) believe that the cessation of the security and civil coordination with Israel will negatively affect the economic and living conditions of the Palestinian people.

• (48.7%) believe that ending the security and civil coordination will negatively affect the restriction of the spread of corona epidemic (Covid-19). .

The latest poll prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali and conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (www.pcpo.org) during the period from June 14-22, 2020 covered a random sample of (1250) Palestinian respondents representing the various demographic specimens of Palestinians (18 years and above) living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. It revealed that (55.5 %) of the Palestinian public believe that the decision of the Palestinian Authority to end the security and civil coordination with Israel was a right decision.

Dr. Nabil Kukali, President and founder of the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, said that the suspension of the security and civil coordination came as response to the Israeli position, that is supported by President Tramp to annex vast regions of the West Bank that makes up around (30 %) of the area of the West Bank, including the Jordan Valley region, the region north of the Dead Sea and the settlements to its sovereignty, the matter that the Palestinians consider as ultimate undermining of the opportunity to establish their own independent state.

Dr. Kukali further added that the poll results unveil that there is a fear of deterioration of the economic and living conditions in the Palestinian Territories as well as the mutual cooperation in restricting the spread of the corona-virus (COVID-19).

Dr. Kukali said the details of the key results of this poll are as follows:

Cessation of the Coordination as a Right Decision

(55.5 %) of the Palestinian public believe that the decision of the Palestinian Authority to end the security and civil coordination with Israel was a right decision; (49.1 %) of them are residents of the West Bank, and (65 %) residents of Gaza Strip, whilst (44.5 %) of the Palestinians, (50.9 %) of them in the West Bank and (35 %) in Gaza Strip, believe that the decision was wrong.

The results in detail further reveal that the governorates with the positive attitude towards the decision are in the West Bank in the following order: Al-Bireh & Ramallah (81.8 %), Jerusalem (62.8 %), Jericho (55.6 %), Hebron (52.9 %), Salfit (52.2 %), Nablus (43.3 %), Toubas (37.5 %), Toulkarem (37.3 %), Jenin (34 %), Qalqilia (27.8 %) and Bethlehem with (15.9 %) the least positive attitude.

On the other hand, the governorates with the negative attitude towards the decision are in the West Bank in the following order: Bethlehem (84.1 %), followed by Qalqilia (72.2 %), Jenin (66 %), Toulkarem (62.7 %), Toubas (62.5 %), Salfit (47.8 %), Nablus (56.6 %), Hebron (47.1 %), Jericho (44.4 %), Jerusalem (37.2 %) and Ramallah (18.8 %).

In Gaza Strip, the governorates with the positive attitude towards the PA decision are in the following order: Rafah (78.1 %), followed by Deir al-Balah (75.9 %), Gaza City (63.9 %), Khan Younis (61.1 %) and North Gaza (54.9 %).

Cessation of the Coordination and the Economic Situation

Responding to the question:” Do you think that the cessation of the security and civil coordination with Israel will improve the economic and living conditions of the Palestinian people or rather worsen them ?, (18.7 %) said “will improve them”, (52.3 %) “will worsen them”, (15.8 %) “will have no effect” and (13.2 %) said “I don’t know”.

Cessation of the Coordination and the Restriction of Corona-virus (COVID-19)

With regard to the question:” In view of the coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel on restricting COVID-19, do you think that ending the security and civil coordination between them would negatively affect this COVID-19 coordination, or not ?, (48.7 %) said “will negatively affect”, (21.7 %) said “will remain unchanged” and (29.6 %) have no opinion.

Will the Cessation of the Coordination impede the Annexation of Jordan Valley and the Settlements ? In respect of the question:” Some people in the Palestinian Territories believe that ending the security and civil coordination between the PA and Israel will impede the Israeli annexation of vast areas of the West Bank (Jordan Valley and the settlements) by Israel, while others believe that it will boost the annexation of these areas by Israel. Which of these two opinions is closer to yours ?, “(28.1 %) said “it will impede Israel”, (35.1 %) “it will encourage Israel to annex these areas”, (26.5 %) “the decision of the PA will have no effect on the annexation” and (10.3 %) said “I don’t know”.

Seriousness of the Palestinian Authority

Responding to the question:”Up to which extent do you believe that the PA will adhere to its decision of terminating the security and civil coordination with Israel ?”, (12.5 %) said “to a great extent”, (37 %) “to a fair extent”, (35.3 %) “to a little extent” and (15.2 %) have no opinion.

The Need for Civil Coordination

With respect of the question addressed to the West Bank respondents:”If you were in need for a coordination or for getting a job, or going to a hospital in Israel, would you go to the bureaus of the Israeli civil administration or to the Palestinian liaison bureaus “, (22 %) said “I would go to the bureaus of the Israeli civil administration”, whilst (56.6 %) said they “would go to the Palestinian liaison bureaus”, and (21.4 %) said “ I don’t know”.

Methodology of the Survey Study in the Palestinian Territories

Dr. Nabil Kukali, said that all interviews of this survey were conducted inside the respondents' homes. The choices were randomly taken in accordance with a long experienced methodology applied by PCPO from a total of (180) sites, (135) are from the West Bank and (45) from Gaza Strip.

Dr. Kukali has further indicated that the margin of error was (±2.77 %) at a significance level of (95.0%). He added that the rate of the female respondents in this survey was (49.6%) against (50.4%) male respondents. The sample allotment with respect to the residential areas was as follows: (63.0 %) in the West Bank, incl. Eastern Jerusalem and (37.0 %) in Gaza Strip. The average age of the respondents was (31.5) years.

For following up the most recent polls of the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, please revert to our website: www.pcpo.org

• Cautious optimism towards new Palestinian government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayeh
• Support for the boycott of the US administration and rejection of the “deal of the century”
• Strong support for elections in Palestine and refusal to hold them without the Gaza Strip
• Democratic Assembly improves chances of the leftist parties in elections
• A large majority rejects land swaps, security control or customs union in future state

The majority of Palestinians polled, 82.8%, said it was important to hold Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections. Likewise, 86.9% said it was important to hold presidential elections. The poll showed that the public was split into those choosing between independent candidates and those choosing candidates from factions and parties, with 38.6% saying they would vote for independent candidates while 37.7% said they would vote for party or faction candidates. At the same time the majority of Palestinians, 86.6%, rejected holding elections without the Gaza Strip, opposed to 10.5% who said this was acceptable.

Leftist Coalition on the rise

If parliamentary (PLC) elections were held and the Palestinian Democratic Assembly, a coalition of leftist political parties established in late 2018, ran, they would receive 9.9% of the votes, while 34.8% said they would vote for Fatah and 12% for Hamas. 31.1% said they would not vote at all. If elections were held without the participation of the Democratic Assembly, 35.2% said they would vote for Fatah, 12.3% for Hamas, 2.8% for the PFLP and 1.6% for the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) while 31.3% said they would not vote at all.

Presidential elections: Marwan Barghouthi most prominent personality

If elections were held without President Mahmoud Abbas running, Marwan Barghouthi would win 12.6% of the votes, followed by Mohammed Dahlan at 8.1%, and Ismail Haniyeh at 6.3%. Meanwhile, over half of the respondents, 53.9%, said they did not know or they had no answer. The poll showed large discrepancies between electoral tendencies in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. For example, the percentage of those who did not know who they would vote for in the West Bank was more than double of those in the Gaza Strip (69% compared to 31.7%) and the percentage of those who would vote for Isma’el Haniyeh in the West Bank was 2.9% as opposed to 11.3% in Gaza. Similarly, 1.1% of those polled in the West Bank said they would vote for Mohammed Dahlan as opposed to 18.4% in the Gaza Strip.

Low trust in fairness of elections

Palestinians expressed low levels of trust in the fairness of elections. Respondents were divided between 45.1% who believe that if elections were held, they would be unfair and 43.5% who said they would be fair.

Trust in the fairness of elections in the Gaza Strip was higher than in the West Bank. The percentage of those who believe elections would be fair was 51.1% in the Gaza Strip as opposed to 38.3% in the West Bank.

Conversely, the percentage of those polled who thought elections would be unfair was 50.2% in the West Bank, opposed to 37.5% in Gaza.

A large majority rejects land swaps, security control or customs union in future state

The majority of those polled, 78.4%, said they would not accept any Peace Agreement that included land swaps between Israel and the State of Palestine, opposed to 17.1% who said this would be acceptable. Furthermore, the majority of respondents, 83.9%, said they would not accept any future Peace Agreement that includes continued Israeli security control over parts of the Palestinian state, opposed to 12.4% who said this was acceptable. At the economic level, the majority of those polled, 72.1%, said they would not accept any future agreement that included a customs union between Israel and the Palestinian state. Almost two-thirds of respondents, 63.4%, said it was not acceptable for any future peace deal to include the integration of Palestinian refugees in neighboring Arab countries, while 32.3% said this was acceptable to them.

Support for national reconciliation

The majority of those polled 89.6%, said that national reconciliation was important or very important, opposed to 8.6% who said it was not important. Regarding the question which side was most responsible for the persisting division, the largest percentage, 32.2%, blamed both Hamas and Fatah together while 16.1% blamed Hamas alone and 8.8% blamed Fatah alone. 21.2% blamed Israel for the persisting division.

Mixed expectations of new Palestinian government

Around one-third of those polled, 35.6%, believe President Mahmoud Abbas’ commissioning of Dr. Mohammed Shtayeh to form the new government is a positive step, opposed to 10.9% who said it was negative and 40.6% who said it was neither positive nor negative. In comparison, 23.8% of respondents said they expected the performance of the Shtayeh government to be better than that of the Hamdallah government, while 10.8% said the opposite. Almost half of the Palestinian public, 49.7%, said there would be no difference between the performances of the two governments. Regarding the public’s expectations of the new government, 36.3% of respondents said that it should improve living conditions, 16.6% said they expected it to combat corruption, 16% said they expected government reforms and 15.3% expecting it to achieve national reconciliation.

Normalization and security coordination rejected by majority of Palestinians

The majority of those polled, 73.8%, opposed the establishment of diplomatic relations between Arab countries and Israel, as opposed to 19% who said they supported this. Moreover, 60.6% said they opposed the continuation of security coordination between the PNA and Israel while 32.5% said they supported its continuation.

Palestinians support boycotting the United States

The poll showed that the majority of respondents, 59.3%, supported the continued boycott of the US administration by the Palestinian leadership, opposed to 30.3% who said they preferred the Palestinian leadership to be involved in diplomatic relations. If, however, the US announced its so-called “Deal of the Century”, about two-thirds of respondents, 65.3%, said they believe the Palestinian leadership should reject the plan, while 6.1% said they should accept it and 21.3% said they preferred that the Palestinian leadership negotiates over it.

Low trust in factions and personalities

Asked which political or religious faction Palestinians trust the most, 28.2% of respondents said they trusted Fatah most, followed by Hamas at 10.3%. The largest percentage, 41.1%, said they did not trust any political or religious faction. The poll also showed that 11.5% trust President Abbas the most, followed by Marwan Barghouthi with 8.4% and Isma’el Haniyeh at 6.3%, while those who said they do not trust any political or religious personality was 47.8%.

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A public opinion poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre (JMCC) in cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung showed the Palestinians’ pessimism towards the United States’ role in the peace process six months after US President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The majority of respondents (79.3%) said Trump was not serious in his call for a resumption of the peace process while 11.9% said he was serious. Meanwhile, 42.9% said there was a decline in the Unites States’ dealings with the Middle East peace process while 42.8% said there had been no change compared to previous US Administrations.

Moreover, the majority of respondents, 54%, advised the Palestinian leadership to agree to a resumption of negotiations if Donald Trump calls for them, on the condition that settlement construction is halted, as opposed to 30.6% who said the Palestinian leadership should not participate.

Negotiations instead of military operations

The largest percentage of Palestinians, 54.2%, still supports the resumption of negotiations with Israel in principle, compared to 41.9%, who oppose resumption. Still, 35.6% of respondents said the peace process was dead and could not be revived, while 39.6% said the peace process was facing difficult conditions with an uncertain future. 19.7% said the peace process was still alive and could be resumed.

Meanwhile, the percentage of those who support the resumption of military operations against Israeli targets as an appropriate response under the current political conditions declined to 28.6% in this poll in comparison to 42.7% in October 2014 and 50.9% in December 2012.

Furthermore, the majority of respondents, 54.7%, continued to support the Arab Peace Initiative compared to 36.1% who opposed it and 9.2% who had no position on the issue.

Balfour Declaration

On the occasion of 100 years since the Balfour Declaration, 40.6% of respondents said Britain bears responsibility for the current Palestinian situation to a large extent, while19.6% said it bore responsibility to some extent and 30.4% who said it did not bear any responsibility at all.

Opposition to dissolving the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)

Despite a decline in the percentage of those who evaluate the performance of the PNA as good or very good, the majority of respondents oppose its dissolution. The percentage of those who evaluated the performance of the PNA as good dropped from 61.6% in November 2013 to 54.1% in September 2017. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who evaluated the performance of the PNA as being bad increased to 45.9% after it was 33.6% in November 2013. Nonetheless, the majority of respondents opposes the dissolution of the PNA and sees a necessity to maintain it, reaching 65.5% in this poll.

Trust in Factions

The poll showed an unprecedented increase in the percentage of those who do not trust any political faction, reaching 42.8%. It is noteworthy that the percentage is far higher in the West Bank (49.9%) compared to the Gaza Strip (30.9%).

The total percentage of trust in Fatah fell to 25% in this poll after being 33.1% in July, 2016. It should be noted that the percentage of trust in Fatah in the Gaza Strip, 34.7%, is higher than it is in the West Bank, at 19.2%. As for trust in Hamas, the percentage remained constant in this poll at 14.5% compared to 14.3% in July 2016. Yet, trust in Hamas in Gaza with 22.9% was considerably higher than it was in the West Bank with 9.5%. However, when asked who was responsible for the aggravation of the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip, the majority of respondents in the Gaza Strip, 51.6%, said it was the Hamas government in Gaza, while 16.9% of Gazans said it was Israel. Yet in the West Bank, a majority of 51.1 % said Israel was responsible with only 17.8% saying it was Hamas.

Increase in Marwan Barghouthi’s popularity

If general elections were held and current President Mahmoud Abbas would not run for office again the largest percentage of Palestinians, 26.1%, said they would vote for Marwan Barghouthi – 25.8% in the west bank and 26.7 % in Gaza- while 12.1% said they would vote for Ismail Haniyeh -9.3% in the West Bank and 16.7% in Gaza . Another 7.7 % said they would vote for Mohamad Dahlan -1.5% in the West Bank and 18% in Gaza-.

However, if presidential elections were held in which only Marwan Barghouthi and Ismail Haniyeh ran for office, about half of the respondents, 50.2%, said they would vote for Marwan Barghouthi while 19.5% would vote for Haniyeh. Moreover, if only Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh ran, 34.8% said they would vote for Abbas, while 27.0% would vote for Haniyeh.

Gender Equality in Palestine

The larger percentage of those polled, 47.5%, said that equality between women and men has improved over the past 10 years while 32.4% said it stayed the same and 16.8% said it had declined.

Police treatment towards women

Regarding battered women and those who report to the police, the majority, 59%, said they thought the police dealt with such cases appropriately, while 27% said they did not. Nonetheless, respondents were split regarding fair treatment of women. Around half of the respondents, 49.2%, said they thought the police adopted fair policies towards women while 47.1% said they did not. In general, almost two-thirds of the respondents, 63.5%, said they had confidence in the Palestinian police to a great or somewhat high extent, while 32% said they had confidence only to a small extent.

Ways of reducing domestic violence

Palestinians were divided over the best ways of reducing levels of domestic violence. 29.9% of respondents said the best solution was passing stricter laws, while 26.2% said it was by increasing the enforcement of current laws and 39.3% said the best way was to improve education and awareness with regards to women’s rights.

Majority considers religion an important part of their lives

A majority of Palestinians, 97.4%, still considers religion an important part of their lives, while 2.6% said it was not. Furthermore, 90.1% said they always performed prayers during the month of Ramadan, while 5.1% said they prayed only on Fridays. Moreover, the majority, 94.2%, said they fasted all or most of the month of Ramadan, while 4.8% said they did not fast at all or only for a few days. As for the Umra (pilgrimage), 28.1% said they had performed it, while 71.9% said they had not performed it or not performed it yet.

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A public opinion poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre (JMCC) in cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung showed that the majority of Palestinians, 53.7%, have become more pessimistic regarding the possibility of resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict after the election of new US President Donald Trump, as opposed to 4.7% who became more optimistic. In comparison, when Barack Obama was elected president in 2009, 28.1% of respondents were more optimistic while 18.9% more pessimistic. In addition, 48.5% said the election of Trump would decrease the chances of reaching a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis against 5.1% who said his election would increase the chances for peace between the two sides. When Obama was elected president in 2009, 35.4% believed his election would increase chances for peace as oppsosed to 11.5% who said the opposite.

As for the best response to a possible move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, the largest percentage 23.4%, called for the cancellation of the Palestinian recognition of Israel while 19.7% said they supported a boycott of the US Embassy. 18.7% of the Palestinians polled answered that a complaint should be lodged against the United States at the UN and 16.5% supported an end to dealing with the United States as a sponsor of the peace process.

Preference for holding elections, although women more reluctant

For the first time, the poll separated the answers of Palestinian men and women to get a better idea of how opinions differ on important Palestinian issues. The poll showed there was an increase in the percentage of those who support elections under any circumstances from 37.6% in March of last year to 46.9% this February. The majority of these respondents, 55.9%, are from the Gaza Strip as opposed to 41.5% from the West Bank. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who said they would vote for Hamas decreased to 16.5% in this poll after being 20.2% in August, 2015. Furthermore, 40.4% said they would vote for Fatah in comparison to 41.1% in August, 2015. It is noteworthy that 31.1% of women who participated in the poll said they would not vote under any circumstances while 19.9% of men answered the same way.

If presidential elections took place and President Mahmoud Abbas did not run, Marwan Barghouti would be the preferred option of Palestinians with 14.6% of respondents voting in his favor, followed by Ismail Haniyeh with 9.1%.

In general, the biggest percentage of respondents, 35.4%, still said they trust Fatah the most among the Palestinian political and religious factions as opposed to 16.3% who trusted Hamas the most, followed by the PFLP with 3.8%. It is noteworthy that the percentage of men who trust Fatah is higher than that of women. Contrarily, the percentage of women who do not trust anyone is higher than men.

Discrepancies between men and women: reconciliation and political solutions

The poll showed a discrepancy between the opinions of men and women in regarding a number of pressing issues; for example, men were more pessimistic regarding reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas (19.2% expected it to be completed) as opposed to 24.2% of women. Furthermore, the larger percentage of women, 25.6%, blamed Israel the most for the persisting division – in contrast only 19.9% of Palestinian men blamed Israel.

In all cases, the percentage of those who support the binational (one-state) solution decreased from 21.3% in July of last year to 18.1% in this poll. Meanwhile, the percentage of those who believe the two-state formula is the preferred solution to the conflict increased from 43.7% in July of last year to 49.6%.

In regards to the best method for achieving the goals of the Palestinian people, there is an increase in the percentage of those who believe peaceful negotiations are the best method from 33.6% in March, 2015 to 37.6% this February, with the highest percentage of support among women, 39.1%% . Moreover, 19.3% of those polled blamed the persisting division on Hamas while 12% blamed it on Fatah; the percentage of those who blamed both Fatah and Hamas increased from 24.0% in August, 2015 to 39.2% this February.

Men and women: what about equality?

The largest percentage of those polled, 47.4% - with no notable difference between men and women – said that equality between men and women in our society had improved over the past 10 years. Still, 12.8% of respondents said the level of equality had declined. It should be noted that that a larger number of respondents from Gaza 19.6%, said equality had declined.

48.0% of respondents said the police adopt a fair policy towards women; the majority of these respondents, 52.5%, in the West Bank with 40.3% in Gaza. Moreover, the majority, 61.1% said they believed that police deal appropriately with battered women while 22.4% said they deal inappropriately with them. A much higher percentage of women in Gaza (33.6%) felt that the police deal inappropriately with battered women - in contrast, 15.6% of respondents in the West Bank felt the same way.

Differing attitudes of men and women on social and religious customs

The largest percentage of those polled, 42.5%, said they would support laws based on Islamic Sharia as opposed to 14.7% who said they should be based on Civil Law. The poll showed that women leaned more towards adopting laws based on Islamic Sharia, with 45.1% in support as opposed to 39.8% of men.

The majority of those polled, 83.8%, said they opposed the marriage of girls under the age of 18 while 16.1% said they supported it. Likewise, the majority of respondents, 69.3%, said they opposed multiple wives while 30,6% said they supported it. It should be noted that 42.4% of polled men said they supported multiple wives while 80.4% of women opposed it.

Furthermore, the majority of those polled, 64.6%, said they do not shake hands with the other sex, the majority of these being women. As to why, the majority of those polled, 84.1%, said they do not shake hands with the other sex for religious reasons while 14.7% said for social reasons pertaining to traditions and habits.

Affiliation and the Palestinian identity

When respondents were asked how they would define themselves in one word, more than half, 52.5%, said they were Palestinian, while the other half were divided between 21.7% who said they were Muslim, 5.3% who said Arab, 3.3% who said they defined themselves as Fatah. The majority of the remaining respondents said they did not know or did not have an answer. It should be mentioned that no discrepancies in responses were noted between Gaza Strip and West Bank residents or between men and women.

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