A recent survey conducted by a Palestinian research institute revealed that above 50% of the Palestinian population believes Hamas should govern the Gaza Strip after the ongoing war.
Only about 11% was found to be in favour of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to the collective survey by the Center for Policy Survey and Research (PCPSR) in Ramallah and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS).
The findings of the survey published on Wednesday came out as a rebuttal while Israel has announced its plan to eliminate Hamas from the post-war scenario terming the Palestinian resistance movement as the cause of all troubles.
The survey has found that 71% of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank believed that the attack on southern Israel on 7 October was “correct”.
As per the survey results, 50% of the respondents in Gaza and the occupied West Bank wanted to see Hamas in power in post-war Gaza.
While 13 % said they wanted PA’s return, it was specified that only under the leadership of someone other than Abbas.
Abbas, who was elected to a four-year term in 2005, has not named a successor.
The reason behind the declining popularity of the 88-year-old Fatah-backed politician has been attributed to the failure to advance the Palestinian hope for statehood and his reluctance to mend ties with Hamas.
Moreover, PA has been lately drawing sharp criticism for being corrupt and autocratic. The police under the Abbas-led Authority have been arresting and torturing activists from Hamas and other resistance organisations in the West Bank.
The respondents have also pointed out the failure of PA in advancing substantial negotiations with the Israeli occupation.
The survey was carried out between 5-10 March among around 1,580 Palestinian adults in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
While 70% of respondents expressed their satisfaction with the role played by Hamas against Israel’s genocidal war, 61% approved of the leadership of the Hamas chief, Yahya Sinwar.
Gaza-based resistance leader, who is an experienced member of both Qassam brigades as well as Hamas politburo, had spent more than 20 years in an Israeli prison after being charged with abducting and killing two Israeli soldiers. Sinwar was later released in a 2011 prisoner swap.
With Israel using starvation as a weapon in the ongoing genocide, the entire population of Gaza around 2.3 million, is enduring “acute” food insecurity.
According to UNRWA, half of the total population suffers from a greater level of food scarcity classified as “catastrophic”.
So far, Israeli forces have killed nearly 32,000 Palestinians, and injured more than 74,000 since 7 October, including a vast majority of children and women, according to the Gaza health ministry.
