The most recent poll of the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali has revealed that:

• (33.2 %) of the Palestinians expect that their financial situation in 2011 will be better than in 2010.
• (74.5 %) believe that the European and American financial aids positively contribute to their welfare.
• (52.2 %) have no idea about the existence of projects in their residential areas that are allocated to the improvement of the infrastructure and are financed by the donor countries.
• (71.0 %) support the issue at present a Palestinian currency.
• (61.1 %) read primarily al-Quds newspaper as to get well informed about the global issues.
• (97.5 %) are in favor of establishing a civil airport in the West Bank.

Beit Sahour – Public Relations Bureau:

The most recent poll prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali, conducted and published by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (www.pcpo.org) during the period from December 10-20, 2010, covered a random sample of (1018) respondents representing the various demographic specimens of adult Palestinians (18 years and above) living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. The poll revealed that (33.2 %) of the Palestinians expect a betterment in their economic situation in 2011.

Dr. Nabil Kukali, founder and Director-General of the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, said that the improvement of the economic situation in the occupied Palestinian Territories in 2010 compared with the foregoing years gave the Palestinian public a feeling of optimism that their financial situation in 2011 will be further improved. He added that the financial assistance provided by the EU and the US substantially contribute to the welfare of the Palestinian people, as (74.5 %) of the Palestinians appreciate that. (44.1 %) of the Palestinians, Dr. Kukali said, receive supporting funds from family members working abroad. He indicated that the majority of the Palestinians are at present in favor of issuing a currency of their own, despite the fact that they believe the PMA is incapable of issuing such a currency and that the present Palestinian economy is unable to protect the stability of the rate of exchange of this currency.

Dr. Kukali further referred to the finding that al-Quds newspaper is the primary printed media source for the Palestinians in the Palestinian territories from which they learn about the global issues and their impact on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He added that a high rate of the Palestinian public is connected to the internet as this service is now available at competitive prices in most of the Palestinian regions. Furthermore, he illustrated, a further high percentage of the Palestinians have already a facebook account due to the increasing significance of this high-tech communication system in the social relations of the people with each other, particularly with relatives and friends abroad, through which they can express their sufferings, hopes and aspirations to each other.

Expectations of the financial situation in 2011:

Responding to the question:" A year from now, do you expect the financial situation of your household would become much better than it is now, somewhat better, remain unchanged, somewhat worse or much worse than it is now ?" ,

(9.4 %) answered "much better", (23.8 %) "somewhat better", (29.6 %) "would remain unchanged", (11.5 %) "somewhat worse", (13.0 %) "much worse" and (12.7 %) said "I don’t know".

The present financial situation in 2010:

Regarding the question: "Compared with the foregoing year, do you think the financial situation of your household or family in 2010 is much better, somewhat better, almost unchanged, somehow worse or much worse than the year before ?"

(6.8 %) answered "much better", (33.1 %) "somewhat better", (40.6 %) "almost unchanged", (6.2 %) "somehow worse", (6.0 %) "much worse" and (7.3 %) answered:"I don’t know".

Household income:

With respect to the question: "When you think about your household income, do you think that it’s on average, or somehow lower, or very much lower, or somehow higher or very much higher than the average income ?", (40.2 %) answered:" on average", (22.1 %) "somehow lower than the average income", (18.1 %) "very much lower", (15.8 %) "somehow higher", (2.8 %) "very much higher than the average income", and (1.0 %) answered "I don’t know".

Projects of the donor countries:

In regard to the question:" Do you know that there are projects in your residential area, that are allocated to the improvement of the infra structure and that these are funded by the donor countries ?" (52.2 %) answered "No, I didn’t", (39.2 %) "Yes, I know" and (8.6 %) answered "I don’t know".

And responding to the question: "Are you satisfied with these projects ?", (25.2 %) said "Yes, very much satisfied", (56.5 %) " Yes, somewhat satisfied", (12.8 %) "No, somewhat dissatisfied", (4.8 %) "No, very much dissatisfied" and (0.7 %) said "I don’t know".

Significance of the foreign assistance:

Responding to the question: " Up to which extent, do you think, do the EU and US financial aids contribute, in general, to the welfare of the Palestinian people ?", (39.2 %) said "to a great deal", (35.3 %) "to a fair extent", (13.1 %) "to a slight extent", (6.3 %) "nil" and (6.1 %) answered "I don’t know".

Money transfer actions:

With respect to the question: "Do you receive money from any of your household members in or outside the country ?", (44.1 %) said "Yes", (54.6 %) "No" and (1.3 %) refused to answer.

And on the question: " Which method do you primarily apply to receive the money ?" , (40.1 %) answered "via money changers", (6.9 %) "as banker checks" , (7.7 %) "via Western Union", (12.4 %) "as bank transfer order", (0.9 %) "by informal ways", (40.4 %) "via family members or friends", (12.7 %) "by myself", (1.4 %) "otherwise" and (13.4 %) refused to answer.

The Palestinian Currency:

Responding to the question:" Are you, in principle, in favor of issuing at present a Palestinian currency or not ?", (71.0 %) answered "Yes, in favor", whilst (22.1 %) said "No, not in favor" and (6.9 %) answered: " I don’t know".

(70.7 %) of the Palestinian public believe that the PMA is incapable of issuing at present a Palestinian currency, whilst (19.7 %) are of the contrary opinion, and (9.6 %) refused to answer this question.

In this context, (65.3 %) of the respondents are of the opinion that the issuance of a Palestinian currency will bring in positive results to the Palestinian economy, whilst (21.5 %) are of the contrary opinion, and (13.2 %) were undecided.

Furthermore, regarding the question: "Would you support the PMA in its intention to issue an own currency, or not ?", (15.7 %) said "Yes, I would strongly support it", (50.5 %) "I would support it", (7.4 %) " I would oppose it", (4.6 %) " I would strongly oppose it", (14.0 %) "undecided" and (7.8 %) answered "I don’t know".

(68.7 %) of the Palestinian public are of the opinion that their economy is unable to protect the stability of the Palestinian currency rate of exchange in case of its issue, whilst (15.4 %) said "it is able" and (15.9 %) declined to answer the question.

Smoking habit:

A good majority (54.7 %) of the Palestinians are absolutely non-smokers, (11.5 %) are light smokers (few cigarettes a’ day), (3.5 %) are casual smokers (few cigarettes a’ week), (14.1 %) are ordinary smokers (half a packet every day) and (16.2 %) are heavy smokers (one packet and more every day).

The mobile cell-phone:

Responding to the question:" How long are you, in general, every day on your mobile cell-phone ?", (54.9 %) said "few minutes", (25.2 %) " up to half-an-hour", (7.1 %) "up to one hour", (2.4 %) " up to two hours", (2.4 %) " more than two hours" and (8.0 %) "have no mobile".

Sleeping hours:

Regarding the question: " How many hours do you usually sleep in the night ?, (17.8 %) said " 4 – 5 hours", (72.7 %) " 6 – 8 hours", and (9.5 %) "9 hours and more".

Home owners / tenants:

(86.5 %) of the Palestinians are home owners, (13.5 %) are tenants.

Religiosity:

Responding to the question: "How do you describe yourself from the religious aspect ?", (1.9 %) answered "secular", (53.7 %) "religious", (41.2 %) "traditionalist" and (3.2 %) "activist".

Immigration:

On the question:" If the immigration door to the West would be opened for you, would you immigrate or stay in your country ?", (60.8 %) answered "I will stay in my country", (29.5 %) "I would immigrate" and (9.7 %) said " I don’t know".

Internet:

Regarding the question: " Do you have an internet connection at home, at your work place or in your cellular phone ?", (67.2 %) answered " I have", and (32.8 %) "I don’t have’.

Facebook:

Responding to the question:" Do you have a Facebook account or not ?", (66.7 %) answered "Yes, I have", (32.9 %) "No, I don’t have" and (5.4 %) refused to answer.

Daily newspapers:

With regard to the question: "Which newspaper do you primarily read as to get well informed about global issues ?" (61.1 %) answered "al-Quds", (13.5 %) "al-Ayyam", (2.5 %) "al-Hayat al-Jadida", (14.0 %) "otherwise" and (8.9 %) answered "none".

A Palestinian Civil Airport:

Almost all the Palestinians, specifically (97.5 %), are in favor of establishing a civil airport in the West Bank, whilst only (1.2 %) opposed that and (1.3 %) refused to answer the question.