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Poll: Majority of Palestinians support 3rd intifada

President Donald Trump expected Palestinians to reject peace plan, poll says.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

A new poll shows a majority of Palestinians support a third intifada.

The poll, conducted in February by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, found 64 percent of 1,270 Palestinian adults living across Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip support a new intifada against Israel to stop the implementation of President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan.

Support for a new intifada was highest in the Gaza Strip (81.2 percent) compared to Judea and Samaria (52.8 percent).

With regard to expectations of what will actually happen as a response to the U.S. peace plan, 61 percent expect to see a return to an intifada, 74 percent expect to see peaceful demonstrations, 66 percent expect that the Palestinian Authority will wage a diplomatic campaign against Israel in the international community, and 51 percent expect the status quo to continue without any major changes.

With regard to the PA resuming direct communication with the Trump administration, 76 percent voted against it and 11 percent were in favor.

Official contact between the PA and the U.S. was suspended by PA President Mahmoud Abbas in December 2017 after Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

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Sixty-percent of those polled think Trump deliberately wanted the Palestinians to reject his Mideast peace plan so that Israel can annex the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, while 34 percent think he expected the Palestinians to fold easily under pressure.

Meanwhile, 49 percent of the poll participants believe the most vital Palestinian goal should be to end Israeli “occupation” in Judea and Samaria and build a Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital.