Background

The Palestinian political realities are still suffering from a sate of division between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and the division is intensified by a verbal conflict that escalates with the approaching end of President Mahmoud Abbas's term. Several legal councilors and advisors assert that the President's term ends simultaneously with the term of the PLC in January 2010. Others, however, say that the President's term ends in January of 2009

On the other side of the Palestinian scene, Palestinian Israeli negotiations are stand still; they do not show any progress. More than one Palestinian official declared that the negotiations are not going to lead to the creation of a Palestinian state by the end of this year as envisioned by the United States and other participants in these negotiations.

As for the truce (hudna) in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and the Israeli Government, all parties are still satisfied with their commitment to the conditions of the truce. Some evasions of ceasefire occur every now and then and several Palestinian factions in the Strip declared more than once that the truce is fragile and that Israel is not committed to its terms and conditions.

The Results

Following are the results of the Palestinian Public Opinion Poll No. 35 conducted by the Center for Opinion Polls and Survey Studies at An-Najah National University during the period from 18-20 September 2008. The University sponsors all polls conducted by its Center.

Palestinian public opinion poll no. 35 undertakes the current political realities especially the Palestinian presidential and, PLC elections, the truce (hudna) between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the peace negotiations, the suggested Arab troops, the attempts for reconciliations between Fateh and Hamas in addition to political affiliations and other issues.

The sample included 1360 persons whose age group is 18 and above and who have the right to vote. The enclosed questionnaire was distributed on 860 persons from the West Bank and 500 persons from the Gaza Strip. The sample was drawn randomly and the margin of error is about ±3%; still 3.8% of the members of the sample refused to answer the questionnaire.

The General Results:

• 61.1% of respondents supported dissolving the PLC; 29.6% rejected.
• 20.1% of respondents supported conducting presidential elections at the end of the current President's term; 77.5% rejected
• 50.7% of respondents supported continuing negotiations under their present conditions between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
• 18.4% of respondents believed that the present PLC members are performing their duties as required of them.
• 42.4% of respondents supported allowing Arab troops to enter the Gaza Strip.
• 52.7% of respondents supported the position of Palestinian factions who oppose allowing Arab troops to enter the West Bank.
• 30.1% of respondents supported allowing Arab troops to enter the West Bank.
• 27.4% of respondents supported allowing Arab troops to enter the West Bank and the Gaza Strip simultaneously.
• 71.5% of respondents supported the truce (hudna) between Hamas and Israel by which Hamas stops firing rockets against Israel and, in return, Israel stops its military operations in the Gaza Strip.
• 37.1% of respondents believed that if Hamas accepts a truce with Israel, it would mean a retreat from the armed struggle option.
• 40.4% of respondents believed that the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip accepted willingly the truce that Hamas declared.
• 48.8% of respondents believed that the truce between Hamas and Israel is an introduction to direct negotiations on the future of the Gaza Strip
• 54.9% of respondents believed that Fateh Movement is serious in its call for a comprehensive national reconciliation
• 39.2% of respondents believed that Hamas Movement is serious in its call for a comprehensive national reconciliation
• 58.2% of respondents believed that the Palestinian public are ready to bring a national reconciliation to a success.
• 51.8% of respondents believed that the Palestinian leaderships of all factions are serious in their intentions to bring a national reconciliation to a success.
• 54.9% of respondents believed that the Palestinian Presidency is serious in its call for a national reconciliation.
• 36.5% of respondents believed that the Arab attempts towards making a reconciliation between Fateh and Hamas will succeed.
• 27.6% of respondents supported the suggestion that calls for the formation of a Hashemite Jordanian-Palestinian kingdom.
• 41.7% of respondents supported dissolving the Palestinian Authority.
• 22.6% of respondents believed that Hamas is the responsible party before Palestinians for the on-going internal division; 14.6% believed that Fateh is the responsible party while 52% believed that some persons inside the two movements are responsible.
• 42.5% of respondents supported the creation of two states on the land of historic Palestine (a Palestinian state and Israel).
• 67.1% of respondents supported the creation of a Palestinian state on the 1967 occupied Palestinian territories.
• 36% of respondents believed that the negotiations that President Mahmoud Abbas conducts will lead to the creation of a Palestinian state on the 1967 occupied territories.
• 32.9% of respondents believed that Palestinian resistance in its present shape will lead to the creation of a Palestinian state on the 1967 occupied territories.
• 61.2% of respondents assessed the performance of the Palestinian Presidency at the present time as "good".
• Regardless of legitimacy or illegitimacy, 57.3% of respondent supported the general policy of the care-taker government of Salam Fayyad.
• Regardless of legitimacy or illegitimacy, 29% of respondents supported the general policy of the dissolved government of Ismael Haniyeh.
• 58.6% of respondents assessed the performance of the care-taker government of Salam Fayyad as "good".
• 29.4% of respondents assessed the performance of the dissolved government of Ismael Haniyeh as "good".
• 76.9% of respondents said that they will participate in the coming presidential elections. From among those who said they will participate, 38.5% said that they will give their votes to Fateh's candidate; 17.4% said they will give their votes to Hamas' candidate.
• 78.1% of respondents said that they will participate in the coming legislative elections. From among those who said they will participate, 37.9% said that they will give their votes to Fateh's candidates; 17.7% said they will give their votes to Hamas' candidates.
• If PLC elections are to be conducted, 42.9% of respondents expected the winning of Fateh movement; 17.2% expected the winning of Hamas.
• 78.2% of respondents supported the formation of a transitional government whose aim will be to prepare for and supervise Presidential and PLC elections
• 61% of respondents believed that the Palestinian security forces are capable of imposing order and the rule of law on the areas in which they were redeployed.
• 71.3% of respondents supported the notion that Palestinian arms must only be in the hands of the Palestinian security apparatuses.
• 52.7% of respondents expressed fear for their lives under the present circumstances.
• 37.2% of respondents said that the current security, political and economic conditions will drive them to emigrate.
• 61.2% of respondents said that they are pessimistic of the general Palestinian situation at this stage.
• 77% of respondents said that they neither feel safe for themselves nor for their families and properties under the current circumstances.
• As for political affiliation respondents gave the following results:

  People’s Party	0.7%
  Democratic Front	1.0%
  Islamic Jihad	2.1%
  Fateh	36.0%
  Hamas	14.4%
  Fida	0.1%
  Popular Front	3.5%
  Palestinian National Initiative	0.7%
  I am an independent nationalist	6.7%
  I am an independent Islamist	2.9%
  None of the above	30.8%
  Others	1.0%

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