Nearly three-quarters of Palestinians (73 percent) want Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to step down, according to a new poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR).
The poll also showed that if presidential elections were held today, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh would defeat Abbas. If only the two were running, Haniyeh would receive 54 percent of the votes, and Abbas 38 percent.
However, neither Hamas nor the ruling Fatah faction under Abbas are deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people, according to 33 percent of those polled. Of those who said that neither side deserves such a role, 31 percent believe that Hamas fared slightly better than Fatah (29 percent).
Instead, Marwan Barghouti, a convicted terrorist serving five life sentences for orchestrating attacks during the Second Intifada, would be the clear winner, receiving 59 percent of the vote while Haniyeh would come in second at 37 percent.
A total of 84 percent consider Palestinian Authority institutions to be corrupt, while 69 percent said the same of Hamas institutions in the Gaza Strip.
About 68 percent believe that the likelihood of a Palestinian state alongside Israel in the next five years is slim to non-existent while 30 percent said the chances are medium to high.
Asked to choose the most effective means of “ending the Israeli occupation and building an independent state,” the public split into three groups: 25 percent chose negotiations, 24 percent chose “popular resistance,” and a whopping 44 percent chose “armed struggle.”
In addition, 70 percent oppose resuming Palestinian-Israeli negotiations unconditionally and 64 percent oppose dialogue with the U.S. under President Biden.
So it seems that peace in the Middle East is on track to remain as elusive as ever.