Majority of Palestinians demand Abbas’ resignation

The Palestinians see no future with their current leadership and seek a violent confrontation with Israel, a new poll shows. 

The Palestinians have no confidence in the newly elected Fatah leadership and about two thirds demand that Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas resign, according to a new poll.

The poll, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) last week and published on Tuesday, shows that the last quarter of 2016 indicated an increase, particularly in the Gaza Strip, in the percentage of those demanding Abbas’ resignation. They also indicate a slight decline in public satisfaction with the president, as 64% of the public wants Abbas to resign, while 32 want him to remain in office. The level of satisfaction with Abbas’ performance stood at only 35 percent.

If presidential elections were to take place today, Hamas’ candidate Ismail Haniyeh would win, the poll indicates.

Marwan Barghouti, serving several life terms in an Israeli prison for multiple terror attacks, was elected to first spot in the Fatah party last week and remains the most popular among all nationalist and Islamist leaders.

In the aftermath of Fatah’s seventh convention, findings indicate that the newly elected Fatah leadership faces a tough challenge winning the trust and confidence of the public.

A majority stated it does not have confidence in the elected leaders. In fact, most are also dissatisfied with the convention’s decision to declare Abbas as head of Fatah for five more years. Only one third of the Palestinian public expressed confidence in the ability of the new leadership to attain the goals to which Palestinians; 54 percent have no faith in the new leadership.

Similarly, only 33 percent of the public is satisfied with the choice of Abbas as Fatah head for five more years; 57 percent is dissatisfied.

Majority Supports Terror

In matters related to Palestinian-Israeli relations, public perception that the two-state solution is no longer viable increased significantly. Moreover, findings demonstrate an increase in the percentage of those who favor the abandonment of the Oslo Peace Accords, with 62 percent in support and 30 percent opposing abandonment of the Oslo agreement.

Palestinians are divided into three groups on the most effective means of building a Palestinian state next to the state of Israel: 33 percent believe that negotiations are the most effective; 37 percent prefer military action, and 24 percent would choose non-violent popular resistance.

More significantly, the poll found a majority in favor of armed terror attacks and a return to armed intifada. This is a reverse of the trend seen in the past nine months, during which support for violence had been in retreat.

Some 80 percent say the Arab world is too preoccupied with its own concerns, internal issues and the conflict with Iran and, therefore, the Palestinians are is no longer the Arab’s principal or primary cause.

The poll was conducted last week among 1,270 Palestinians with an error margin of three percentage points.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

IntifadaIsmail HaniyehMarwan BarghoutiOslo AccordsPalestinian electionsTwo State Solution