BEIT SAHOUR, May 17, 2011 (WAFA) – A public opinion poll published Tuesday by the Beit Sahour-based Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) found out that 53% of the Palestinian respondents believe that Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is the best candidate to head the new unity government.
A total of 14.6% said that Hamas leader Ismail Hanieh is the best candidate, 24.1% were in favor of an independent person, and 8.3% were hesitant to give an opinion.
The poll said 79.7% of the Palestinians support the reconciliation agreement that was signed on May 4 in
A majority 70.5% of Palestinians expect a break out of a third Intifada that will be similar to the first or second intifada in case Palestinian-Israeli peace talks stumble. However, 25.5% oppose its occurrence, whereas 4.0% refused to answer this question,
When asked, in general, do you support or oppose resuming peaceful negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis under the current circumstances, 40.2% of Palestinians support this resumption, whereas 32.7% have a mixed feeling, 25.2% oppose, and 1.9% said they do not know.
When asked, in your opinion, which of the following means is the best to end the occupation and lead to the establishing of an independent Palestinian state, 32.1% of the respondents were in favor of negotiations until an agreement between the two parties is reached, whereas 25.0% were in favor of the non-violent popular resistance, 12.4% through the United Nations, 23.1% by holding an international conference that will impose a solution on all parties, 5.0% are for military operations, and 2.4% otherwise.
When asked: Do you think that Israelis are interested in making peace with Palestinians, 44.7% said no, whereas 45.5% said yes to a certain degree, 8.4% yes, 1.4% do not know.
When asked: Do you expect that a peace agreement will be reached between Israelis and Palestinians in the next year, 60.5% said yes to a certain degree, 23.8% said no, 14.2% said yes, and 1.5% do not know.
When asked are you more optimistic or pessimistic than before in terms of reaching a final solution between Israel and the Palestinians, 15.4% expressed more optimism than before, 35.7% remained as optimistic, 24.8% remained as pessimistic, 21.9% were more pessimistic, and 2.2% did not know.
When asked in case all efforts towards peace have collapsed, which of the following options are most probable to administer Palestinian affairs, 37.4% of Palestinians were for the dismantling the PA and holding the international community responsible for the legal vacuum that will arise, whereas 24.7% were in favor of declaring a Palestinian state and escalating resistance, 34.6% for keeping the status quo with developing new strategies to run Palestinian affairs, and 3.3% say do not know.
Almost three-fourth 74.5% of Palestinians believe that any military escalation in the Gaza Strip will be in Israel’s interest, whereas 18.9% believe it will in Hamas’s interest, 0.6% in Fatah interest, 5.3% for the Palestinian issue and 0.7% do not know.
When asked what is your view regarding the resuming of launching Qassam missiles from
This survey reveals that Mahmoud Abbas is the best candidate for presidency in the next elections with a percentage of 32.5%, followed by 12.1% for Ismail Hanieh, 10.2% Marwan Barghouthi, 6.1% Salam Fayyad, 4.2% Mustafa Barghouthi, 3.6% Mohammad Dahlan, 0.4% otherwise. However, 12.6% of the respondents say they will not vote, and 18.3% say they have not made-up their mind yet.
When asked if new presidential elections were held and Mahmoud Abbas was Fatah’s candidate while Ismail Hanieh was Hamas’ candidate, whom would you vote for, more than half of the Palestinians, 57.8%, will vote for Abbas, whereas 13.1% will vote for Hanieh. However, 26.0% say they will not cast their ballot, and 3.1% said I do not know.
When asked if competition was between Hanieh and Fayyad, 14.7% for Hanieh, 49.1% Fayyad, 32.7% will not cast ballot, and 3.5% “do not know”.
A little less than two-thirds, 62.9%, of the Palestinians oppose that a woman take over the presidency of the PA, whereas 35.1% support, and 2.0% abstain from expressing their opinion.
The poll had a plus or minus 3% margin of error.
M.A.
