A poll carried out by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) On the Palestinian Economy
Poll 126 Dear Madam, Dear Sir, We are pleased to tell you that our Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) has carried out in the last few days a survey of economical character. The target this survey is aiming to is the knowledge of the directions and inclinations of the Palestinians in respect of a set of economic issues, such as their own evaluation of the economic situation and the impact of the Israeli siege and the security barriers on them. The target is to make also acquaintance with the effects of the Palestinian uprising (Intifada) upon the economy and the role of the Palestinian Authority in establishing and managing the Palestinian economy. Add thereto the possibility of casting bridges of peace by carrying out Palestinian-Israeli joint ventures. We trust that this survey will be a further step in the peace process and hope that it will be also of benefit to you. Please feel quite free to contact us if you have further questions. We will be pleased to have your comments. Yours faithfully Dr. N. Kukali President of PCPO
Information Section A recent survey of the economic situation in the Palestinian territories is prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali and conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) during the period from 19 Nov – 23 Nov ,2004. The poll included a random sample of (650) Palestinian adults from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. The interviews took place according to PCPO’s experienced methodology on the basis of random choices at respondents’ homes, i.e. face to face. Dr. Kukali, president of PCPO, stated that “the most significant issue the poll results revealed is that the Palestinian people are suffering from a severe economic crisis, which made the normal citizen very concerned about the essential means of living of his family”. Dr. Kukali further pointed out that “the security barrier and the check-points imposed by Israel on the Palestinian territories increased the deterioration of the economical situation, whilst on the other hand the Palestinian Authority is not capable of creating new job opportunities for the people and has no economical programs at present, the matter which aggravated the Palestinian crisis dramatically”. “The sampling error throughout the survey is found at (±3.8%) and that of the refusal (1.5%). The percentage of female respondents was (46.8%) whilst that of the male ones was (53.2%). As to the marital status, the distribution of the sample was as follows: (60.6%) married, (34.9%) single and (4.5%) otherwise. The average age of the random sample of the respondents was 30.5 years. The respondents’ location of residence was as follows: (49.5%) town, (32.5%) village and (18%) refugee camp”, said Dr. Kukali. Dr. Kukali said the results of the poll were as follows: 1) Do you evaluate the general economic situation in the Palestinian Territories as?
2) To what degree are you concerned about your means of subsistence?
3) What is your major concern at present?
4) Fifty one months back, to the time when the current Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out, do you believe that it served or harmed the Palestinian interests?
5) If Al-Aqsa Intifada continued in a way that further aggravated your financial conditions, would you still support it or demand that it stops?
6) Do you believe that the PA is capable or incapable of creating job opportunities for the Palestinian, who were working in Israel?
7) Do you believe that the government of Abu-AL-A’LA is able to improve the economical conditions of the Palestinian people?
8) When asked “In general do you think that the PA has an economical agenda to encounter the current crisis”?
9) Do you believe or not believe that violence will alleviate in the Palestinian territories if the Israeli government would take serious and sincere measures to lift the siege and security belt from the Palestinian territories?
10) Would you increase or decrease your support of the Intifada if Israel continued imposing economical siege and the security belt on the Palestinian territories?
11) To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “Mutual cooperation and joint projects between all nations of the region, including Israelis and Palestinians, in areas such as water, health, environment, tourism etc. – should start as soon as possible, now even before final peace agreements are reached”
12) And in the present situation whilst permanent peace agreement has not yet been reached – do you support or reject an open market and joint economic projects between Israel and the Palestinians?
13) How likely is it that there will be peace with the Israelis in the near future?
General Information 14) Religion:
15) Practice of religion:
Methodology: A stratified 3-stage cluster random sample of 650 individuals 18 years or older was selected from the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip. The first stage involves selecting 60 clusters with populations of 1,000 or more individuals (after stratification by district and type of community- urban, rural, and refugee camp) with probabilities proportional to size (PPS). The second stage involves selecting 10 households in each of the chosen clusters. Stage 3 involves selecting one individual in each household using Kish tables. Face-to-face interviews are then conducted with the selected individuals. PCPO Profile: The Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) was founded in February 1994 in Beit Sahour by Dr. Nabil Kukali, who becomes the president for this center since that time. After the arrival of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the PCPO was registered as a research center under license number (2/م أ). The Palestinian Ministry of Information issued the license that permits establishing satellite offices elsewhere in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The PCPO has a team of well-trained interviewers throughout the Palestinian territories. It is dedicated to conducting public opinion surveys workshops and focus group sessions on various topics, and rendering services in the field of investment, including feasibility studies. http://www.miftah.org |