Surveying Palestinian opinions March 2009

Palestinians yearn for institutional reform, national reconciliation and unity

An opinion poll carried out by Fafo in late February and early March provides important insights into the political attitudes of the West Bank and Gaza Strip populations six weeks after Israel ended its assault on Gaza.
It finds that the legitimacy of both the international community and national leadership is exceptionally low. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza lack confidence in the international community’s ability to contribute to a peaceful end to the conflict with Israel. There is a substantial demand for renewed political leadership, especially in Fatah.

Nine out of ten have no confidence that the current ceasefire will endure and that the blockade will end.
A two-state solution is supported by only a third of the population, and barely one-half supports a halt in the rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel.

People want political unification around inclusive political institutions. There is vast support for Fatah and Hamas holding joint negotiations with Israel (72 percent) and Hamas’ inclusion in the PLO (76 percent). More than 90 percent think that Fatah and Hamas should negotiate with the aim of forming a national coalition government.

Fafo carried out the poll in the West Bank on 23 Feb- 4 March and in the Gaza Strip 3-12 March 2009.

The fieldwork was implemented at 144 and 132 interviewing points in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, respectively. The respondents were randomly selected individuals aged 18 and above: 1476 in the West Bank and 2017 in the Gaza Strip, all interviewed face to face.

The poll was financed by the Norwegian Government.

Researchers

Åge A. Tiltnes. ati@fafo.no
+47 22 088 629 + 47 974 33 960

Akram Atallah akram@fafo.ps
+972 59 96 20 12 +972 54 53 48 283

Hani Eldada hani@fafo.ps
+972 59 97 81 030

Press release:

Arabic * Norsk

Summary

English * Arabic

Tabulation reports

1: The West Bank

2: The Gaza Strip

3: The West Bank and Gaza Strip

Questionnaires

West Bank:
English * Arabic

Gaza:
English * Arabic

Sampling

West Bank poll sampling

Gaza poll sampling