The Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) survey, released Wednesday, showed 70 percent of Palestinians showing various degrees of support for current President Mahmoud Abbas, a member of the Fatah political party and called a moderate by many Western governments. Prime Minister Ismael Haniyyeh, a member of the Hamas party, received a 62.3% approval rating.
This comes in light of the fact that three-quarters of Palestinians surveyed rated the general economic conditions in the Palestinian territories as "bad" and 69% believed the suspension of international aid will increase violence in the region.
The survey, led by PCPO director Dr. Nabil Kukali, consisted of 1,000 randomly selected interviews with Palestinian adults from varying demographics during the week of July 22-29 2006. Participants were interviewed in Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank.
The survey also showed more than half favor a ceasefire between Palestinians and Israelis and want the "Prisoners’ Document" used as part of peace negations between the two sides.
Internationally, an overwhelming 81.4% of Palestinians want the US and European countries to reconsider their suspension of financial aid after Hamas came to power in January.
Palestinians also feel International observers are not doing their job correctly at the border crossings.
"A clear majority 66.7% of the Palestinians believe that the International Observers’ Team at Rafah border-crossing is acting according to Israel’s wish," the survey mentioned.
