Over 70% of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip support Hamas’ decision to carry out the October 7 Massacre and the vast majority do not believe that Hamas carried out atrocities during the massacre, according to a new poll published by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) on Wednesday.
The poll found that there were “significant differences” between the attitudes of West Bank residents and Gaza residents. In the West Bank, 82% believed that Hamas’ decision to launch the attack was correct and only 12% said it was incorrect, while in Gaza, 57% said it was correct and 37% said it was incorrect.
Additionally, while 85% of West Bank Palestinians expressed satisfaction with Hamas’ behavior in the war, only 52% of Gazan Palestinians felt the same. In reference to specifically Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, 57% of West Bank residents expressed satisfaction with his role, while 43% of Gazans said the same.
Palestinians in general expressed disappointment with Fatah and the PA, with only 22% expressing satisfaction with Fatah’s role in the war and only 14% expressing satisfaction with the PA’s role.
Among the respondents, 85% said that they did not see videos showing the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians on October 7. Only 7% of respondents said that they believed that Hamas committed such atrocities.
The poll found that 95% of Palestinians believe Israel has committed war crimes during the war, while only 10% said that they believe Hamas has committed such crimes.
The majority of the respondents said as well that they believe that the massacre was conducted as “a response to settler attacks on al-Aqsa Mosque and on Palestinian citizens and for the release of prisoners from Israeli prisons,” while only 14% thought it was an Iranian plot to thwart Arab normalization with Israel.
While 70% of West Bank residents believe Hamas will win the war, only half of Gazans believe the same. A third of Gazans believe that Israel will emerge victorious.
Who should rule Gaza after the war?
When asked about who would be likely to rule Gaza after the war, nearly two thirds (73% in the West Bank and 51% in Gaza) said that Hamas would still be in power, while 11% said a PA national unity government would rule but without PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Additionally, 7% said that the PA under Abbas would rule Gaza, 4% said Israel would rule, 3% said one or more Arab countries would control the Strip, 2% said a unity government under Abbas would rule, and 1% said the UN would be in charge.
When asked who they would prefer to see controlling Gaza after the war, 75% of West Bank residents said Hamas, while only 38% of Hamas residents said the same. 16% of the respondents said a PA national unity government without Abbas should rule, 7% said the PA under Abbas should rule, 3% said one or more Arab countries should control the Strip, another 3% said a unity government under Abbas should rule, and 2% said the IDF should be in charge.
Some 72% of respondents said that they think Hamas will succeed in returning to rule Gaza after the war, while 23% said they do not believe Hamas will manage to do so.
Additionally, if the West Bank and Gaza are unified under the PA after the war, 70% of respondents said they would be opposed to the deployment of an Arab security contingent in the area, although support for such a contingent would rise to 45% if it provided basic, administrative, and health services.
About half of West Bank residents and Gazans said that they expect a ceasefire in Gaza within the next few weeks, while a quarter said that they expect the war to continue for weeks or months. Some 28% of West Bank respondents and 9% of Gazan respondents said that they expect Israel to “unilaterally end the war and begin to withdraw under the pressure” from Hamas.
Palestinian respondents expressed widespread satisfaction with Yemen’s role in the war, with 89% of West Bank residents and 68% of Gazans expressing satisfaction with Yemen’s role. In comparison, 56% of Palestinians expressed satisfaction with Qatar’s role, 49% expressed satisfaction with Hezbollah’s role, 35% were satisfied with Iran’s role, 34% with Turkey’s role, 24% with Jordan’s role, and 23% with Egypt’s role.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia sat at the bottom of the list, with only 8% of Palestinians expressing satisfaction with the UAE’s role and only 5% expressing satisfaction with Saudi Arabia’s role.
Palestinians split on what Israel’s goal in war is
When asked about what they thought Israel’s goals in the war were, 53% said that they believed Israel intends to destroy Gaza and kill or expel its population while 42% said that they think the goal is to exact revenge against Hamas and destroy the terrorist factions in the Strip.
The vast majority of respondents also said that they believe Israel will fail in eradicating Hamas, with only 8% thinking that Israel will succeed, although West Bank residents are more sure of this failing than Gaza residents (87% compared to 44%).
Of the respondents, 71% said that they believe Gazans who were displaced by the war will be able to return to their homes after the war, although West Bank respondents were much more optimistic about this than Gazans. (83% compared to 53%)
A majority of the respondents (52%) blamed Israel for the suffering of Gazans in the war, while 26% blamed the US, 11% blamed Hamas, and 9% blamed the Palestinian Authority.
Gazan face difficulties accessing necessities
Gazan respondents were also asked about humanitarian conditions in the Strip, with 44% saying that they have enough food and water for a day or two and 56% saying that they do not.
Only one third of Gazan respondents said that they can reach a place where they can access food or water.
Two thirds of Gazan respondents said that they had a family member who had been killed or injured in the war. Some 36% said that none of their family members have been killed or injured.
Most of the Palestinians polled (85%) said that they supported the release of Israeli women and children held hostage by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The PCPSR interviewed 1,231 adults in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for the poll.
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