Palestinians turn away from Hamas and Abu Mazen, yet continue to support Iran

A new and comprehensive public opinion poll published this week by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) presents a dramatic snapshot of the mood on the Palestinian street, against the backdrop of plans for the regulation of the Gaza Strip and the US-Iran war. The data points to an almost total crisis of confidence in the current Palestinian leadership, alongside a crash in public support for Hamas.

The eyes are turned to the radical axis

Alongside the disappointment with the local leadership, the Palestinian street continues to express support for the extremist elements in the region. Against the backdrop of the recent military confrontation between the US and Iran, 45% of Palestinians indicated that they stood with Tehran. In addition, the Houthi rebels in Yemen enjoy the highest satisfaction rate among regional actors (61%), followed by Hezbollah and Iran with 50% each. For comparison, the satisfaction with US President Donald Trump stands at only 5%.

The collapse of trust in the Palestinian Authority and Hamas

According to data from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, overall support for Hamas has dropped to only 24%, compared to 35% about ten months ago. The decline is particularly sharp in the West Bank, where support for the terrorist organization has plummeted from a third to only a fifth. However, the Palestinian public is not flocking to the arms of the Fatah movement, which also receives only 24% support. In fact, 44% of respondents believe that none of the movements are worthy of leading.

The Palestinian Authority is currently perceived more than ever as a corrupt body devoid of legitimacy. An astonishing figure of 83% of the Palestinian public believes that there is corruption in the Authority's institutions, and 65% define the Palestinian Authority as a "burden" on the Palestinian people. Accordingly, 79% of respondents demand the immediate resignation of the Authority's Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). If presidential elections were held today, Marwan Barghouti, who is imprisoned in Israel, would win by a huge margin with 54% of the voters' ballots, followed by Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya with 26% and Abu Mazen trailing behind with only 14%.

Sobering up from the war in Gaza, but refusal to disarm

A figure that may be of particular interest to the public in Israel concerns the perception of victory in the war in Gaza. Unlike in the past, only 20% of Palestinians today believe that Hamas won the war (a drastic drop from 48% in the West Bank ten months ago to 21% today). An absolute majority of 60% believe that neither side won.

Despite this, the road to the demilitarization of the Strip is still long. Despite Hamas's agreement to the "Mladenov Plan" and its disarmament as part of the Trump plan, 72% of the Palestinian public opposes the disarmament of Hamas before a full Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, and an identical percentage believes that such a step would lead to the renewal of the war. However, there is a certain moderation in the preferred tools for achieving a state: support for armed struggle has dropped to a four-year low (27%), while support for negotiations has jumped to 44%.

The two-state solution and the internal crisis

The poll shows that general support for the two-state solution has remained without real change and stands at 44%, but when a specific solution based on the 1967 borders is presented, support climbs to 56%. However, most Palestinians (58%) believe that the solution is no longer practical due to the expansion of settlements. In the internal arena in the West Bank, frustration is growing not only on the political level but also on the economic one: following the severe fuel crisis and the long lines at stations, almost half of the public (48%) blames the Palestinian Authority's institutions for the failure, far ahead of those who blame Israel (26%).