A survey by the An-Najah National University in Nablus of 1,361 Palestinians, 860 from the West Bank and 501 from the Gaza Strip, indicates that over 75% of Palestinians support negotiations with Israel, and that 49% are satisfied with the government of Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei (Abu Ala).
The survey indicates that 39% of Palestinians believe that PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) will implement reforms and combat corruption. 40% think that he will provide them with personal security, as he promised during the election campaign.
44% believe that Abbas is capable of instituting far-reaching reforms in PA institutions, and 37% think that he can eliminate anarchy in the PA.
According to the survey, in the two months since his election, 25% of Palestinians feel that their personal security has improved, 11% feel that their economic situation has improved, and 21.8% feel that movement between cities is freer.
The survey found that 81% support the de-escalation agreement between the Palestinian terrorist organizations and the PA, and 76.4% support the appointment of a deputy for Abbas.
According to the survey, 52.9% support training of the Palestinian security agencies by Egypt and Jordan when Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria under the disengagement plan. 49.8% support inviting the Jordan-based Bader Troops to the areas in northern Samaria from which Israel withdraws.
The survey said that 36.9% of respondents think that the PA will act against unemployment and poverty, and provide employment opportunities, and 21.5% support a union of all national and Islamic forces. 16% favor rebuilding of all infrastructures. 12% support using communities abandoned by Israel to house Palestinians. 6.6% support training for all Palestinian security agencies.
70.2% of the survey respondents said that they would take part in the upcoming elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council, scheduled for July. The survey indicates that only 13.7% plan to vote for Hamas candidates, and 5.7% for other Islamic factions. Fatah continues to lead with 27%, and 33.2% said they would decide for whom to vote on the day of the elections. This figure may indicate a desire on the part of voters to avoid pressure before the elections.
44.5% of those surveyed regard agreement by Hamas to participate in parliamentary elections as de facto recognition of the Oslo agreements. 71% support Hamas’s participation in the elections, despite the fact that the elections are one of the main elements of the Oslo agreements.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on March 21, 2005