Introduction:

These are the results and analyses of the latest Arab World for Research & Development (AWRAD) public opinion poll, focusing on the aftermath of the UN vote on November 29, 2012 and the Gaza confrontations in the last two weeks of November. The poll examines the impact of these two primary events on the popularity of Palestinian leaders and other relevant parties, the peace process, reconciliation, and future prospects. The poll also explores views of elections, evaluations of the performance of the Fayyad and Haniyeh governments, and support for existing political parties and prospective future candidates.

The questionnaire was fielded December 1-2, 2012, only 2 days after the UN vote recognizing Palestine as a non-member state. The initiative was led by Palestinian President M. Abbas. The poll was also fielded a week after the cease-fire agreement went into effect in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian groups led by Hamas. The agreement was brokered by Egypt and Turkey.

For this survey, 1,200 Palestinians were interviewed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. All socioeconomic groups were represented in the poll (for more details on the sample, please refer to www.awrad.org). The margin of error in this poll is plus or minus 3 percent. The survey was carried out by AWRAD researchers under the supervision of Dr. Nader Said-Foqahaa, President of AWRAD.

Analysis of Results

The results of this poll lay down a baseline for future comparisons. Forthcoming polls will reveal if the present results represent a moment in time or a sustained future trend. In general, however, the results indicate a renewed sense of hope among Palestinians for the Palestinian cause as well as the current Gaza-West Bank division.

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