IDF: Hamas falsified opinion polls to hold onto power

Evidence of the distorted poll results were discovered by the IDF during its Gaza operations.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The IDF revealed on Thursday that Hamas falsified opinion polls conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) with the aim of creating a misleading impression of the level of support for the terror group.

According to Palestinian polls published in March, Hamas faked the answer to the question, “Who do you think will win this war?” claiming that 56% replied Hamas and 18% answered Israel when the actual responses were 30% Hamas and 52.2% of those questioned believing Israel would win the war.

In a poll asking Palestinians whether they would vote for Mahmoud Abbas or Ismail Haniyeh (now deceased), Hamas distorted the actual results, which favored Abbas at 25.8% compared to Haniyeh at 21.3%, and claimed the public favored Haniyeh at 48% compared to Abbas at 22%.

When asked how satisfied they were with their leadership, 31.9% approved of Hamas, and 22.1% supported Sinwar.
The distorted results falsely claimed Hamas had a 62% approval rating and that 52% approved of current Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

It is apparent that Hamas falsified the polls to manipulate the Palestinian public and to attempt to hold onto power.

The IDF discovered evidence of the distorted poll results during its Gaza operations.

The documents were found at Hamas’s General Security Apparatus and included both original and tampered versions of the polls.

“These falsified results are designed to portray a misleading image of broad public support for Hamas and its leadership, particularly in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre,” the IDF explained.

The motive for tampering with the results was to give a false impression internationally and with media outlets of Palestinian support for Hamas post October 7th.

“These findings underscore the importance Hamas places on public opinion, as it attempts to project widespread support among Gazans falsely,” the IDF added.

The IDF did not find any evidence of direct collaboration between Hamas and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research; rather, Hamas distorted the results.