* In the first public opinion poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC) following Hamas control over the Gaza Strip, results shows that a majority of the Palestinian public (46.7%) generally believes that the situation in the Gaza Strip worsened following Hamas control over Gaza Strip compared with a ratio of 27.1% who think that the situation improved.

* On the other hand, a slight majority (35.4%) think that the situation in the West Bank improved after the formation of Fayyad's government compared with 27.9% who think the situation worsened after the formation of Fayyad's government.

* However, the majority of the respondents in the Gaza Strip (43.6%) said their feeling of security after Hamas control has improved when compared with the past, compared with 31.5% who believe the opposite.

* In general, the ratio of those who blame Hamas for the internal fighting in Gaza is higher (43.5%) than those who blame the Fatah Movement for the internal fighting (28.4%) while a ratio of 17.5% blame both Fatah and Hamas.

* A majority of the respondents (38.3%) said signs of chaos and absence of the rule of the law decreased during the new government of Fayyad compared with a ratio of 23.0% who think that security chaos increased. The remaining ratio (34.4%) believes they have not noticed any change in the security conditions under the new government of Fayyad.

* When asked a specific and direct question comparing the performance of the Fayyad government in the West Bank and the discharged government of Hanieh in the Gaza Strip, a majority (46.5%) said the performance of Fayyad's government is better and only 24.4% said the performance of Fayyad's government is worse than Hanieh's government, while 22.8%don’t seen any difference between the two governments.

* A notable majority of the respondents (67.9%) don’t expect the repetition of Gaza internal fighting in the West Bank and, in the same manner, a large fraction of respondents (79.6%) don’t expect to see Hamas control the West Bank as Hamas does in the Gaza Strip.

* On the public assessment of Hamas strength in the West Bank, a majority (77.2%) said the strength of Hamas in Gaza is greater than in the West Bank while only 5.1% saw the opposite. A ratio of 12.3% said Hamas strength in the West Bank is the same as it is in the Gaza Strip.

* With regards to the detailed solutions on ending the current split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a slight majority (27.9%) believe that dialogue between the factions is the solution while (26.1%) believe that the solution lies in returning to the National Unity Government. A ratio of 23.5% view that the solution lies in conducting early elections. Only 16.9% believe that the solution lies in dissolving Hanieh's government and having Fayyad's government assume its control over Gaza. With regards to the expectations of the public on a potential agreement, a majority (46.8%) expect the return to the formation of a National Unity Government compared with (43.8%) who don’t expect this to happen.

* President Mahmoud Abbas still enjoys the largest chance of winning the presidential elections if they happened today. A ratio of 20.6% said they would vote for President Abbas while 18.8% said they would vote for Ismaeel Hanieh and 16.6% said they would vote for Marwan al-Barghouthi. It is noted that Abbas gains popularity in Gaza (23.9%) slightly more than in the West Bank (18.7%) while there is a major gap between the popularity of Hanieh in the Gaza Strip (26.1%) and in the West Bank (14.5%). Generally speaking, there is a slight improvement in the confidence in Abbas (18.3%) compared with 12.4% last March and 13.0% in June 2006.

* On the other hand, there is slight decrease in confidence in Hanieh (16.2%) compared with 19.5% last March and 18.2% in June 2006. With regards to the trust in the factions, Hamas suffered a setback in popular trust (21.6%) compared with 25.2% last March and 28.9% in June 2006. On the other hand, the Fatah Movement gained popular trust (34.4%) compared with 31.4% last March and 33.7% in June 2006.

* At the level of the Palestinian general public position regarding the external political negotiations, half of the respondents support the idea of reaching a Declaration of Principles and the other half rejects this idea. Regarding exchange of land with Israel in the context of the final-status negotiations, a notable majority (61.4%) opposes the idea while a ratio of 38% supports the idea. In a more clear referendum, an overwhelming majority of the Palestinian respondents (81.9%) oppose allowing Israel to keep control over settlements in the West Bank in return for Israeli land while only 17.4% agree to this. The most salient political position was on the issue of the Palestinian refugees’ cause, as a notable majority (68.5%) said the resolution of this issue is through the return of the refugees to their homes while a ratio of 12.8% said the solution lies in return of the refugees to the Palestinian state. A ratio of 6.7% supports a solution based on compensation while 11.8% support a solution that includes the return of the refugees to their homes and to the Palestinian state as well as compensation.

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Poll no. 62