Hamas would win PA elections, new poll finds

The survey polled 1,056 people in Gaza between April 19 and April 22.

By World Israel News Staff

Hamas would win by a landslide in the Gaza Strip if Palestinian Authority (PA) elections were held this week, The Jewish Press reports on Wednesday. The win would be similar to the last time elections were held in 2006.

The survey by the Atlas Center, translated by Abu Ali Express, finds Hamas taking nearly double the vote as Fatah, which controls the PA.

The results of the survey:

Hamas – 32.4%
Fatah – 17.2%

The survey polled 1,056 people in Gaza between April 19 and April 22.

Fatah worries that Hamas is also more popular in areas under its control in Judea and Samaria. A September 2020 opinion poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed the head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, would win a majority of the public vote.

Sixty-two percent said they wanted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas out and were dissatisfied with the PA’s handling of just about everything ranging from the economy to coronavirus.

Reports say it is likely that Fatah will delay legislative elections scheduled for May 22, fearing that Hamas would win.

Israel, wishing to avoid becoming a scapegoat for Fatah’s decision, announced recently that it would stay out of the PA elections. Israeli Foreign Ministry political director Alon Bar told a group of EU ambassadors on Tuesday not to pay attention to PA claims of Israeli meddling.

“During the meeting, Alon Bar emphasized to the ambassadors that the elections in the Palestinian Authority are an internal Palestinian issue, and that Israel has no intention of intervening in them nor preventing them,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

One sticking point is whether Israel will allow PA elections to be held in eastern Jerusalem. The PA said it will not hold elections if Jerusalem is barred from the voting. Israel says it has not made a final decision on the matter.