POLL: Most Palestinians Want to Replace Abbas with even more Anti-Israel Government

POLL: Most Palestinians Want to Replace Abbas with even more Anti-Israel Government

A poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip last month contained many disturbing revelations.

Coordination Between the PA and Israel

In June, Abbas announced the cessation of ties with the Jewish state over its now-deferred intentions to apply sovereignty over West Bank territories. Almost two months ago, the Palestinian Authority (PA) resumed security and civil coordination with Israel. 

• • A majority of respondents (53% ) oppose the resumption of coordination with Israel. 
  • A majority of respondents (53%) believe Israel came out a winner from the battle over coordination while 9% think the PA came out a winner. The majority thinks it was the Palestinian side that suffered the consequences of the cessation of coordination
  • An overwhelming majority of 87% think Israel did not abandon its annexation plan. 61% believe the resumption of coordination will increase the cases of Arab states normalizing relations with Israel. 57% believe the resumption of coordination diminishes the prospects of reconciliation between the PA and Israel. 

• Biden and the PA

A majority of 58% of Palestinians expect an improvement in Palestinian-American relations of Biden enters the White House. 36% do not expect an improvement in Palestinian-American relations. 68% expect the new administration to resume economic aid to the PA and 52% expect it to allow the reopening of PLO diplomatic mission in the US capital. Only 37% expect the Biden Administration to re-open the US consulate in East Jerusalem; 29% expect it to abandon the Trump Plan, known as the deal of the century; 

26% of respondents expect a Biden administration to relocate the US embassy to Tel Aviv and 22% expect Biden to reverse the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.  

42% expect a Biden administration to recommit itself to the nuclear deal with Iran. 46% do not expect the US to return to the Iran deal.

Two-State Solution

40% of respondents support the two-state solution but 59% oppose a two-state solution. 62% think this solution is no longer practical due to settlement expansion. 75% believe that the chances for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel in the next five years are slim or nonexistent while 23% believe the chances to be medium or high.

38% of Palestinian respondents prefer a two-state solution whereas 29% prefer waging an armed struggle against Israel. Support for an armed intifada remains high at 48%. 29% support abandoning the two-state solution and the adoption of the one-state solution.

63% supported resort to non-violent resistance; 48% supported return to armed confrontations and intifada; 44% supported dissolving the PA.

Elections and the Abbas Government

The Palestinian Authority was established as a consequence of the 1993-95 Oslo Accords.The first legislative and presidential elections were held in 1996 with Yasser Arafat winning with 88.2% of the vote. Elections were not held until after his death in 2004 when Mahmoud Abbas won with 62.52% of the vote. Abbas is now in the 16th year of a four-year term.

66% of the public want president Abbas to resign while 30% want him to remain in office.

About three-quarters of the Palestinian respondents demand the holding of general legislative and presidential elections but only 32% expect such elections to be held soon in the Palestinian territories. Of those who said they would participate, 34% say they would vote for Hamas and 38% say they will vote for Fatah.