New Palestinian Poll Is Out: 45% Of Gazans Want To Leave

Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) has come out with a new survey of what Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are thinking.

So what is the number one problem facing the Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza?

Percentage	Main Problem
28%	the spread of poverty and unemployment
26%	the absence of national unity due to the split
24%	the continuation of occupation and settlement activities
10%	the siege and the closure of the Gaza border crossings
10%	the corruption in some public institutions

But the problems don't seem to define the goals--though that appears to be because of the way the survey was worded. The actual survey does not yet appear in the PSR list of polls.

Here are what Arabs said their goals were:

Percentage	The first most vital Palestinian goal
48%	to end Israeli occupation in the areas occupied in 1967 and build a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital
21%	to build a pious or moral individual and a religious society, one that applies all Islamic teachings
20%	to obtain the right of return to refuges to their 1948 towns and villages
11%	to establish a democratic political system that respects freedoms and rights of Palestinians

---

Percentage	The second most vital Palestinian goal
39%	to obtain the right of return to refuges to their 1948 towns and villages
24%	to end Israeli occupation in the areas occupied in 1967 and build a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital
22%	to build a pious or moral individual and a religious society, one that applies all Islamic teachings
16%	to establish a democratic political system that respects freedoms and rights of Palestinians

Democracy does not seem to be a priority--but then again, why should the West Bank and Gaza be any different from most of the rest of the Muslim world. But while only 24% see 'occupation' and settlements as the biggest problem, 48% see ending it as the primary goal. Again, that may be because of the wording of the actual survey and the options listed.

Among some of the other results, those 'moderates' in the West Bank don't seem to allowing much free speech:

	Ability to criticize authorities in:
Date	West Bank	Gaza
December 2010	27%	19%
September 2010	30%	24%
March 2009	37%	29%
August 2008	47%	42%
September 2007	56%	52%

At the same time, both in the West Bank and Gaza, there is a perception that things are getting better:

17% describe conditions in the Gaza Strip as good or very good and 62% describe them as bad or very bad. In our last poll, three months ago, in September-October, only 11% describe conditions in the Gaza Strip as good or very good and 70% said it was bad or very bad. By contrast, 35% describe conditions in the West Bank as good or very good and only 31% describe them as bad or very bad. Three months ago, these percentages stood at 33% and 34% respectively.

Yet, conditions are not good enough in Gaza to convince Arabs to stay:

But findings show an increase in the percentage of Gazans who say that political, security, and economic conditions force them to seek immigration to other countries from 37% three months ago to 45% in this poll. In the West Bank, the percentage of those wishing to immigrate remains unchanged at 24%.

As far as those "political, security and economic conditions" in Gaza go--the fact remains that a terrorist government like Hamas has not brought the people of Gaza what they expected, and those conditions are a direct result of Hamas actions. Unfortunately, there is no likelihood of real elections in the foreseeable future to correct the problem. What was once boasted as being "the democratically elected" government of Gaza is not taking a chance on being "the democratically re-elected" government of Gaza.

So it's not surprising--considering the postponement of elections in both the West Bank and Gaza that a question on the legitimacy of the governments is asked:

23% say the government of Haniyeh is the legitimate Palestinian government and 29% say the Fayyad government is the legitimate one. 34% say both governments are illegitimate. These results indicate a slight decrease in the percentage of those who view the Haniyeh government as legitimate.

Apparently the Arabs are noticing the fact that the terms of both governments has long since ended.

Still, as opposed to the last elections, Fateh is preferred over Hamas:

If new presidential elections are held today, and only two were nominated, Abbas would receive the vote of 56% and Haniyeh 38% of the vote of those participating. The rate of participation in such election would reach 59%. Three months ago, Abbas received 57% and Haniyeh 36%. In the Gaza Strip, Abbas receives 53% and Haniyeh 43% and in the West Bank Abbas receives 59% and Haniyeh 34%.

If new legislative elections are held today with the participation of all factions, 69% say they would participate in such elections. Of those who would participate, 25% say they would vote for Hamas and 44% say they would vote for Fateh, 11% would vote for all other third parties combined, and 20% are undecided. These results are similar to those obtained three months ago. Vote for Hamas in the Gaza Strip is 26% and in the West Bank 24%. Vote for Fateh in the Gaza Strip is 48% and in the West Bank 42%

A number of interesting nuggets of information here, including the fact that real elections would be a great step towards stability in general and that peace that Obama has been so keen on.

Unfortunately, Obama would probably be more interested in new elections in Israel than in the West Bank and Gaza--not that it would help, seeing as Netanyahu is now more popular in Israel than Obama is in the US.

Hat tip: IMRA

Technorati Tag: Palestinian Poll.