JMCC - Poll No. 18, December 1996- On Palestinian Attitudes Towards Current Issues

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Text

last updated Jan. 16, 2010
published Dec. 14, 1996

Poll No. 18, December 1996- On Palestinian Attitudes Towards Current Issues

Summary: Introduction

• Support for the peace agreements is now lower than the period following the September incidents. This also applies to the people's perception of the PNA's performance.

• There is lack of confidence in the Palestinian Council and in its effectiveness.

• The Palestinian public has more confidence in Al-Quds Newspaper, Radio Palestine, and the Palestinian TV.

• Differences still persist in the opinions of West Bank and Gaza Strip Palestinians.

1. As for Palestinian public opinion regarding the peace process and the PNA, it is clear that these indicators have gone down to the level of the pre-September incidents. The popularity of Fateh declined from 42% in October to 35.2% in December. The supporters of the Oslo Agreement also declined from 23.5% in October to 19.7% in December. As for those who are very optimistic about the future, the percentage fell from 19% in October to 12.4% in December. Trust in President Arafat has also declined from 44.5% to 41.2%.

2. Major changes were observed in this poll regarding the public confidence in the media. Confidence in Palestinian TV increased from 26.5% in August to 41.3% in December (it is worth mentioning that the majority of West Bankers 30.8% trust Jordan TV, as compared to 4.1% in the Gaza Strip). As for radio, confidence in Radio Palestine increased from 33.4% to 44.5%. The second is Israel Radio, and the third is Radio Monte Carlo.

3. As for final status issues, 84.1% of the public opposed any final solution proposing annexing Israeli settlements to Israel in return for giving the Palestinian land near the Egyptian borders. Moreover, the Palestinian opposed the idea of keeping present Jerusalem unified under Israeli sovereignty while having Abu Deis as a Palestinian Capital.

4. Only 24% of the Palestinians surveyed say that the Palestinian Council fulfills their aspirations adequately. 48.3% said that the Council represents them but with no effect.

This survey continued to show previous differences that were observed between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Those who said they are very optimistic in the West Bank are 10% compared to 17% in the Gaza Strip. This is also true for the strong supporters of the interim agreement. Whereas only 15.6% in the West Bank said that they strongly support the agreement, the percentage in the Gaza Strip is 27.6% in the West Bank. The same applies to support for President Arafat who enjoys more support in the Gaza Strip (51.9%) than in the West Bank (35.7%).

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