Poll: Second Intifada mastermind Barghouti would win Palestinian elections

60 percent of Palestinians would elect Barghouti over Haniyeh of Hamas and  Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

According to a poll of Arabs in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, the mastermind of the Second Intifada, Marwan Barghouti, would win Palestinian elections.

Dr. Khalil Shikaki, director of Ramallah’s Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), on Thursday published a survey showing 60 percent of Palestinians would elect Barghouti.

Marwan Barghouti is currently held in Israeli prison and was named by Hamas as one of the prisoners they would demand to be released in a hostage deal exchange.

The poll showed Barghouti would be the winner if he were running against Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas.

An election between Haniyeh and Abbas would favour Haniyeh with 80 percent of the vote.

The survey also showed 90 percent of Palestinians doubted reports of atrocities Hamas committed against Israelis on October 7th.

Only 1 in 5 had seen videos of the crimes, and those who viewed the videos were 10 times more likely to believe atrocities were committed by Hamas.

Around 71 percent said they agreed with Hamas attacking Israel on October 7th.

Regarding the war, 38 percent of Gazans thought the war would persist and half of the Arabs in Judea and Samaria said they felt a ceasefire was imminent.

About 60 percent of Gazans said they believed Hamas would retain power and 50 percent said they would support the continued rule of Hamas, a 14 point increase from an earlier poll.

Around 80 percent would disagree with a proposal to have a coalition of Arab countries ruling Gaza after the war.

Concerning a two-state solution 60 percent of Gazans said they would agree compared to 35 percent in a previous poll. Around 34 percent of Arabs in Judea and Samaria support a two-state solution.