At least 60 percent of the Palestinians support that the Palestinian factions renew calm declared last March said a recent poll by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) in Beit Sahour.
The poll was conducted during the period of (5 – 8) November 2005 with a random sample of 825 adult Palestinians over 18 years old representing the various demographic specimen from the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip.
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Dr. Nabil Kukali head of the center said ‘The majority of the Palestinians also, namely (59.9%), support the renewal of the calm period with Israel expiring at the end of this current year.’
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The poll reveals a 17 percent drop in the support of the calm period compared with the previous poll. This could be attributed, says Dr. Kokaly, to the Israeli actions, such as the shelling of Gaza and the siege of the towns and villages in the West Bank.  He added that the house raids, assassinations, detention and the many roadblocks contribute to this drop.
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The support for calm is higher in the Gaza Strip than in the West Bank, Dr. Kokaly said.
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‘75.1 percent of the Gaza Strip residents said they support the renewal of calm whereas on 51.2 percent in the West Bank supported it,’ he said.
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He further pointed out that the overwhelming majority of the Palestinians trusts the European Community as controller of the borders between Gaza and Egypt and that (61%) support to different extents President Mahmoud Abbas.ÂÂ
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Dr. Kokaly concluded his comments by saying that (70%) of the Palestinians disagree with the recent Hadera bombing.
