PSR - Survey Research Unit: Public Opinion Poll # 31
www.pcpsr.org/survey/polls/2009/p31e.html

These are the results of the latest poll conducted by the Palestinian Center
for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
between 5 and 7 March 2009. The poll was conducted several weeks after the
Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip. The poll period witnessed return of
Palestinian factions to reconciliation talks sponsored by Egypt. The poll
examines the following topics: domestic issues such as the balance of power,
the performance and legitimacy of two governments, that of Ismail Haniyeh
and Salam Fayyad, the peace process, and the Israeli elections. Total size
of the sample is 1270 adults interviewed face to face in 127 randomly
selected locations. Margin of error is 3%. For further details, contact PSR
director, Dr. Khalil Shikaki, or Walid Ladadweh at tel 02-296 4933 or email
pcpsr@pcpsr.org.

PSR Poll No. 31
5-7 March 2009

00 )From among the following satellite news stations, which one you watched
most during the last two months?
9.8% 1) Al Arabia
61.7% 2) Al Jazeera
0.1% 3) Al Hurra
2.6% 4) Al Manar
6.0% 5) Palestine TV
12.6% 6) Al-Aqsa TV
4.2% 7) Do not watch TV
1.9% 8) Others
0.7% 9) Do not have a dish
0.3% 10) No Opinion/Don't know

01)In general, how would you describe conditions of the Palestinians in the
Palestinian areas in Gaza Strip these days?
1.1% 1) Very good
5.7% 2) Good
10.4% 3) So so
36.8% 4) Bad
45.8% 5) Very bad
0.4% 6) DK/NA

02)In general, how would you describe conditions of the Palestinians in the
Palestinian areas in the West Bank these days?
4.5% 1) Very good
20.7% 2) Good
30.4% 3) So so
27.1% 4) Bad
14.1% 5) Very bad
3.3% 6) DK/NA

03)Generally, do you see yourself as:
48.5% 1) Religious
47.9% 2) Somewhat religious
3.2% 3) Not religious
0.4% 4) DK/NA

04)Generally, do you see yourself as:
61.9% 1) Supportive of the peace process
19.9% 2) Opposed to the peace process
16.4% 3) Between support and opposition
1.8% 4) DK/NA

05)Do you think that there is corruption in PA institutions under the
control of President Abu Mazin?
68.8% 1) Yes
16.0% 2) No
15.2% 3) DK/NA

06)If yes, will this corruption in PA institutions under the control of
President Abu Mazin increase, decrease or remain as it is in the future?
44.4% 1) Will increase
16.4% 2) Will remain as it is
30.4% 3) will decrease
8.8% 4) DK/NA

07)How would you evaluate the current status of democracy and human rights
in the Palestinian Authority under Abu Mazin? Would you say it is:
5.6% 1) Very good
27.8% 2) Good
27.7% 3) neither bad nor good
20.1% 4) Bad
13.9% 5) Very bad
4.9% 6) DK/NA

08)How would you evaluate the current status of democracy and human rights
in the Gaza Strip under Ismail Hanyieh government? Would you say it is:
8.1% 1) Very good
22.5% 2) Good
19.8% 3) Fair
22.8% 4) Bad
15.3% 5) Very bad
11.5% 6) DK/NA

09)Would you say that these days your security and safety, and that of your
family, is assured or not assured?
5.9% 1) Completely assured
44.5% 2) Assured
41.2% 3) Not assured
8.2% 4) Not assured at all
0.1% 5) DK/NA

10)Do current political, security, and economic conditions lead you to seek
emigration abroad?
10.8% 1) Certainly seek to emigration
15.3% 2) Seek emigration
36.3% 3) Do not seek emigration
37.5% 4) Certainly do not seek emigration
0.1% 5) DK/NA

11)Tell us how do you evaluate the performance of the dismissed government
of Ismail Haniyeh in the Gaza Strip? Is it good or bad?
11.9% 1) Very Good
31.4% 2) Good
20.7% 3) Neither good nor bad
17.5% 4) Bad
7.6% 5) Very Bad
10.8% 6) No Opinion/Don't know

12)Tell us how do you evaluate the performance of the government headed by
Salam Fayyad? Is it good or bad?
5.0% 1) Very Good
26.5% 2) Good
24.7% 3) Neither good nor bad
22.6% 4) Bad
10.2% 5) Very Bad
10.9% 6) No Opinion/Don't know

13)Are you satisfied or not satisfied with the performance of Mahmud Abbas
since his election as president of the PA?
4.3% 1) Very satisfied
35.8% 2) Satisfied
38.2% 3) Not satisfied
17.2% 4) not satisfied at all
4.5% 5) DK/NA

14)If new presidential elections are to take place today, and Mahmud Abbas
was nominated by Fateh and Ismail Haniyeh was nominated by Hamas, whom would
you vote for?
45.1% 1) Mahmud Abbas
47.1% 2) Ismail Haniyeh
7.8% 3 DK/NA

15)And if the competition was between Marwan Barghouti representing Fateh
and Ismail Haniyeh representing Hamas, whom would you vote for?
61.1% 1) Marwan Barghouti
33.7% 2) Ismail Haniyeh
5.2% 3) No Opinion/ Don't know

17)If new elections agreed to by all factions are held today and the same
lists that took part in the last PLC elections were nominated, for whom
would you vote?
1.5% 1) alternative
2.8% 2) independent Palestine
4.6% 3) Abu Ali Mustafa
0.2% 4) Abu al Abbas
0.1% 5) freedom and social justice
32.8% 6) change and reform
0.3% 7) national coalition for justice and democracy
0.9% 8) third way
0.5% 9) freedom and independence
0.1% 10) Palestinian justice
39.5% 11) Fateh
16.9% 12) none of the above/ DK/NA

18)After the separation between Gaza and the West Bank, Hamas and the
government of Ismail Haniyeh remained in power in Gaza and considered itself
the legitimate government while president Abu Mazin formed a new government
headed by Salam Fayyad and it too considered itself legitimate. What about
you, which of the two government you consider legitimate, the government of
Haniyeh or the government of Abu Mazin and Fayyad?
34.6% 1) Haniyehs' government is the legitimate one
25.0% 2) Abu Mazin's and Fayyad government is the legitimate one
9.0% 3) Both governments are legitimate
26.0% 4) Both governments are not legitimate
5.3% 5) DK/NA

19)Given the outcome of the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip, do you think
the Palestinians are today better or worse off than they were before the
war?
10.6% 1) better off
71.2% 2) worse off
17.3% 3) same as before the war
1.0% 4) DK/NA

20)Do you support for oppose a return to the quiet that existed before the
Israeli attack on Gaza?
14.3% 1) certainly support
60.9% 2) support
19.0% 3) oppose
3.6% 4) Certainly oppose
2.3% 5) DK/NA

21)Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the performance of the Hamas
government in the Gaza Strip with regard to providing housing and
reconstruction to the victims of the Israeli attack?
8.3% 1) certainly satisfied
40.5% 2) satisfied
28.1% 3) dissatisfied
9.6% 4) Certainly dissatisfied
13.6% 5) DK/NA

22)From among the following three Palestinian priorities, which in your
opinion is the most important one?
24.9% 1) Gaza reconstruction
46.1% 2) reconciliation and reunification of the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip
28.3% 3) return to quite and opening of Gaza crossings
0.7% 4) DK/NA

23)There is talk these days about establishing a new authoritative
institution that serves as an umbrella organization for resistance groups,
but some Palestinians see in it a a threat that might weaken or displace the
PLO. What do you think? Should a new institution be established or should
the PLO be maintained and strengthened?
32.7% 1) a new institution should be established
56.6% 2) the PLO should be maintained and strengthened
3.3% 3) other (specify ---- )
7.4% 4) DK/NA

24)In your view, who is the legitimate president of the PA today?
27.3% 1) Speaker of the PLC
38.6% 2) Mahmud Abbas
3.6% 3) other (specify ------- )
23.7% 4) no one
6.8% 5) DK/NA

25)If Fateh-Hamas reconciliation failed, would you in this case support
holding legislative and presidential elections in the West Bank while
postponing elections in the Gaza Strip until after reconciliation is
achieved?
5.5% 1) certainly support it
30.0% 2) support it
44.7% 3) oppose it
17.3% 4) Certainly oppose it
2.6% 5) DK/NA

26)If Hamas wins next legislative and president elections, will this in your
view lead to the lifting or to tightening of the international boycott of
the Palestinian government?
11.9% 1) will lead to the lifting of the boycott
63.3% 2) will lead to the tightening of the boycott
19.1% 3) conditions will stay as they are today
5.7% 4) DK/NA

27)And what about the unity between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip? Will a
Hamas victory in the next legislative and presidential elections lead to
consolidation of unity between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip or will it
lead to consolidating the split between the two areas?
24.4% 1) will lead to consolidation of WBGS unity
47.1% 2) will lead to consolidation of WBGS split
22.6% 3) conditions of WBGS will stay as they are today
5.9% 4) DK/NA

28)And what if Fateh wins new legislative and president elections, will this
in your view lead to the lifting or to tightening of the international
boycott of the Palestinian government?
60.6% 1) will lead to the lifting of the boycott
11.1% 2) will lead to the tightening of the boycott
23.6% 3) conditions will stay as they are today
4.7% 4) DK/NA

29)And what about the unity between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip? Will a
Fateh victory in the next legislative and presidential elections lead to
consolidation of unity between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip or will it
lead to consolidating the split between the two areas?
36.6% 1) will lead to consolidation of WBGS unity
31.1% 2) will lead to consolidation of WBGS split
25.9% 3) conditions of WBGS will stay as they are today
6.4% 4) DK/NA

30)In your view who is responsible for the continued split of the PA between
Gaza and the West Bank, Fateh or Hamas?
14.5% 1) Hamas
15.0% 2) Fateh
59.2% 3) both
4.2% 4) None of them
4.9% 5) others, specify
2.2% 6) DK/NA

31)There is a proposal that after the establishment of an independent
Palestinian state and the settlemnet of all issues in dispute, including the
refugees and Jerusalem issues, there will be a mutual recognition of Israel
as the state of the Jewish people and Palestine as the state of the
Palestinians people. Do you agree or disagree to this proposal?
5.6% 1) Definitely agree
44.3% 2) agree
36.9% 3) disagree
10.6% 4) definitely disagree
2.6% 5) DK/NA

32)Now 40 years after the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip, what in your view are the chances for the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state next to the state of Israel in the next five
years? Are they high, medium, low, or none existent?
36.9% 1) None existent
35.8% 2) Low
20.2% 3) Medium
3.8% 4) High
3.3% 5) DK/NA

33) According to the Saudi plan, Israel will retreat from all territories
occupied in 1967 including Gaza the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Golan
Heights, and a Palestinian state will be established. The refugees problem
will be resolved through negotiation in a just and agreed upon manner and in
accordance with UN resolution 194 which allows return of refugees to Israel
and compensation. In return, all Arab states will recognize Israel and its
right to secure borders, will sign peace treaties with her and establish
normal diplomatic relations. Do you agree or disagree to this plan?
6.0% 1) Certainly agree
52.0% 2) agree
29.1% 3) disagree
9.6% 4) Certainly disagree
3.2% 5) DK/NA

34)Concerning armed attacks against Israeli civilians inside Israel, I..
16.4% 1) Strongly support
37.8% 2) Support
34.9% 3) Oppose
7.8% 4) Strongly oppose
3.1% 5) DK/NA

35)What do you expect to happen between Palestinians and Israelis now
following the Israeli military attack in Gaza?
10.9% 1) Negotiations will resume soon enough and armed confrontations
will stop
49.8% 2) Negotiations will resume but some armed attacks will continue
33.3% 3) Armed confrontations will not stop and the two sides will not
return to negotiations
6.0% 4) DK/NA
36)Some people think there is on difference between the various parties in
Israel as right wing parties (such as Likud, Israel Beitainu, and Shas) and
center and left (such as Kadima, Labor, and Mertez) supported the attack
against Gaza; but others think there are differences as the center and left
support the two state solution while the right opposes it. What about you?
Do you see a difference between these trends?
4.1% 1) certainly there is
22.3% 2) there is
43.5% 3) there is no difference
26.1% 4) certainly there is no difference
3.9% 5) DK/NA

37)Given the outcome of the most recent Israeli elections, what are your
expectations regarding the peace process? For example, do you think that
negotiations will now be more successful in ending settlement exapansion and
bringing peace or will settlemnets expand and peace efforts fail?
7.2% 1) expect negotiations to succeed in ending settlement expansion and
bringing peace
61.5% 2) expect increase in settlement expansion and failure of peace
efforts
27.9% 3) expect conditions to stay are they are today
3.4% 4) DK/NA

38)Given your expectations about the peace process, do you support or oppose
retrun to Palestinian-Israeli negotiations before Israel freezes settlement
activities?
2.4% 1) certainly support
35.1% 2) support
45.1% 3) oppose
12.8% 4) certainly oppose
4.7% 5) DK/NA

39)Which of the following political parties do you support?
0.6% 1) PPP
4.5% 2) PFLP
30.8% 3) Fateh
23.0% 4) Hamas
0.6% 5) DFLP
2.1% 6) Islamic Jihad
0.1% 7) Fida
1.2% 8) National Initiative (Mubadara)
2.6% 9) Independent Islamists
4.1% 10) Independent Nationalists
28.7% 11) None of the above
1.6% 12) Other, specify

This PSR survey was conducted with the support of the Konrad Adenauer
Stiftung in Ramallah