• Introduction
• Methodology
• Sample distribution
• Occupation of respondents
• Results

• The majority of Palestinians (70.1%) support the Intifada while 17.8% opposed the continuation of the Intifada. Moreover, 54.5% of those interviewed believe in the need to have both popular and military forms of the Intifada, while 15.5% supported the only popular form of the Intifada and 18.5% only supported the military form of the Intifada.

• A slight majority (52%) believe that the best means to achieve the national goals is through having both the Intifada and the negotiations continue at the same time, while 28.4% view that the national interest stipulates the continuation of the Intifada only, but 21.1% saw the national interest is only in the continuation of the negotiations.

• The poll also showed a notable increase in the support of military and suicide operations. A large majority believes that military operations constitute an appropriate response under the current political conditions compared with 35.7% in a poll conducted in March 1999. Another significant change lies in the increasing support to suicide operations; 66.2% of the Palestinian people believe that the suicide operations are an appropriate response under the current conditions compared with 26.1% in March 1999.

• As for the impact of the Intifada on the Palestinian public opinion regarding the Oslo Accords, the level of support for the Oslo Accords went down to its lowest mark (39%) compared with 57.9% in June 2000, and 64.5% in May 2000, and 74.9% in December 1996, where it was the highest.

• The most striking result is the change in the level of popular trust in the Palestinian political and religious figures; the ratio of those who trust President Arafat went down the most since it reached only 25.7% in this poll compared with 31.8% in June 2000 while the level of trust in Sheikh Yaseen rose to 12.2% from 6.1% in June 2000. Moreover, the name of Marwan Barghouthi appears for the first time as the most trusted Palestinian figure who gained a percentage of 2.6% while Dr. Haidar Abdul Shafi got 3.6% and Saeb Erekat 4.2%. However, the percentage of Palestinians who do not trust any Palestinian figures remained unchanged at 31.9%.

• Regarding the level of trust in the political and religious factions, Fateh Movement maintained the same level of confidence at 32.1% compared with 34.5% in June 2000 while the level of support for Hamas Movement rose to 19.2% compared with 12% in June 2000. Those who do not trust any Palestinian political or religious faction rose to 37.3% compared with 28.1% in June 2000.

• Regarding the performance of the PNA, 55.5% said they are satisfied with the Authority’s performance compared with 60.7% in June 2000 and 71.4% in November 1997 which was the highest.

• The poll showed that the majority of the Palestinian people are dissatisfied with the level of Arab solidarity with the Intifada; 60.5% of the sample said they are not satisfied with the Arab solidarity while 39% said they are satisfied.

• With regards to the upcoming Israeli elections, the poll showed that both candidates Barak and Sharon are bad in the eyes of the majority of the sample; only 4.1% said they prefer a government under the leadership of Sharon while 6.6% prefer a government to be headed by Barak. The overwhelming majority (86%) said there is no difference between both candidates; this figure constitutes a significant increase in the percentage of Palestinians who see no difference between the Labor and Likud Parties in Israel when compared with 50.2% in March 1999.

• Regarding the US mediation role in the peace process, an overwhelming majority (95.1%) believe that the US is biased towards Israel while only 3.1% believe the US is neutral.

A random sample of 1199 people over the age of 18 were interviewed face-to-face throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip on 21,22,23,24 December  2000. The interviews were conducted in randomly selected homes, and the subjects inside each home were also selected randomly according to Kish tables. The interviews were conducted in 60 sampling points chosen randomly according to population.

In the West Bank, 759 people were surveyed from the following areas: Jenin: Jenin, Jenin refugee camp,  Kufr Ra’ee, ‘Arrabeh, Yabad, a-Zababdeh, Maythaloun, Aqaba, Sanour. Nablus: Nablus, Burqa, Beit Fureek, Haris, Sabastia, Balata refugee camp, Bidia, Boureen. Tulkarem: Tulkarem, Rameen, Qalqilia, Tulkarem refugee camp, Beit Leed, Jayyous. Hebron: Hebron, Doura, Al-Fawwar refugee camp, Beit Ummar, a-Tafuh, Yatta, Halhoul, al-Daharia. Bethlehem: Bethlehem, Za’atara, Artas, Beit Sahour, Beit Ta’mar, Deiheshe refugee camp. Jericho: Jericho, Aqbet Jaber. Ramallah & al-Bireh: al-Bireh, Ramallah, Beir Zeit, al-Mazra al-Sharqia, Kharbatha Bani Harith, al-Amari refugee camp. Jerusalem: a-Ram, Kufr ‘Aqab, Old City, Beit Hanina, Shufat, al-I’issawia, Jabal al-Mukaber, Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, Sawahreh.

In the Gaza Strip, 440 people were surveyed from: Gaza North: Jabalia refugee camp, Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun. Gaza:  Sheikh Radwan, a-Darji, a-Tufah, Sabra,  a-Zeitoon, a-Nasser, a-Shujaeih, a-Rimal north and south and Shati refugee camp, Saftawi, a-Sha’af, Sheikh ‘Ajleen. Deir al- Balah: al-bureij refugee camp, Deir al Balah, refugee camp, al-Maghazi refugee camp. Khan Younis: Khan younis, Khan Younis refugee camp, Bani Suheila, Absan al-Saghira, Absan al-Kabira, al-Qarara. Rafah: Rafah, Rafah refugee camp and Tal al-Sultan refugee camp.

The margin of error is 3 percent, with a confidence level of  95.

51.6% of the respondents were from West Bank, 11.7% from Jerusalem, 36.7% from the Gaza Strip.
30.5% said they live in villages, 16.7% in refugee camps, 52.8% in towns/cities.
51.1% were male, 48.9% were female.
 The average age of the respondents was 34 years.

Students 10.6%  laborers 13.3%  Farmers/fishermen 2.6%
Craftsmen 1.8% Businessmen/private business 7.7%
Employees e.g. secretaries/municipal employees/teachers/nurses 19.2%
Professionals - e.g. doctors/lawyers/ pharmacists/engineers 1.5%
Housewives 34.9%, unemployed and retired 7.6%
No answer 0.8%

Q. 1 Do you support or oppose the continuation of the current Palestinian Intifada?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Support	70.1	66.8	75.9
Oppose	17.8	18.3	16.8
I don't know	8.9	10.7	5.9
No answer	3.2	4.2	1.4

Q.2 The current Intifada includes popular characteristics such as the demonstrations and military characteristics. In your opinion, are you with the continuation of a popular or military Intifada or both of them together?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
I am with the continuation of a popular resistance Intifada	15.5	20.0	7.7
Iam with the continuation of a military resistance Intifada	18.5	16.3	22.3
I am with both a popular and military resistance Intifada	54.5	49.5	63.0
I don't know	8.0	10.0	4.5
No answer	3.5	4.2	2.5

Q.3 Some believe that the Intifada is the best path at achieve our national goals and end the occupation, others believe that the negotiations are the best way to do so. There are some who believe that the continuation of the Intifada and negotiations together is the method to achieve Palestinian national goals. What in your opinion is the best way to achieve Palestinian national goals?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Only the Intifada	28.4	24.2	35.7
Only negotiations	12.1	14.2	8.4
Intifada and negotiations together	52.0	53.1	50.2
I don’t know	5.3	5.8	4.5
No answer	2.2	2.7	1.2

Q.4 Do you support the resumption of military operations against Israeli targets as a suitable response within the current political conditions, or do you reject it and find it harmful to Palestinian national interests?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
I see it as suitable response within the current political conditions	72.1	66.9	80.9
I oppose it and see it as harmful to Palestinian national interests	16.8	19.2	12.7
I don’t know	7.4	8.6	5.5
No answer	3.7	5.3	0.9

Q.5 What about suicide operations? Do you see them as a suitable response within the current political conditions or do you oppose them and see them harmful to national interests?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
I see them suitable response within the current political conditions	66.2	61.5	74.3
I oppose them and see it as harmful to Palestinian national interests	22.2	24.5	18.2
I don’t know	7.8	9.0	5.9
No answer	3.8	5.0	1.6

Q.6 How satisfied are you with Arab solidarity with the Intifada. Would you say you are very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or totally dissatisfied?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Very satisfied	7.1	5.7	9.5
Somewhat satisfied	31.9	26.1	41.8
Somewhat dissatisfied	27.4	29.1	24.3
Totally dissatisfied	33.1	38.3	24.1
I don't know	0.3	0.5	0.0
No answer	0.2	0.3	0.3

Q.7 What's your opinion of the Oslo agreement? Would you say that you strongly support it, support it, oppose it, or strongly oppose it?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Strongly support it	3.2	4.5	0.9
Support it	35.8	37.3	33.2
Oppose it	36.0	34.4	38.9
Strongly oppose it	18.5	15.4	23.9
No answer	6.5	8.4	3.1

Q.8 If Jerusalem formed the last obstacle in signing a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, do you then approve making Jerusalem the unified capital of Israel?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Agree	2.7	4.1	0.2
Disagree	94.3	91.4	99.3
I don’t know	2.4	3.7	0.2
No answer	0.6	0.8	0.3

Q.9 Which Palestinian political or religious faction do you trust the most?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Fateh	32.1	31.8	32.7
Hamas	19.2	16.9	23.2
PFLP	1.7	1.4	2.0
DFLP	0.3	0.4	0.2
Islamic Jihad	3.0	2.6	3.6
PPP	0.9	1.4	0.0
Fida	0.4	0.7	0.0
Other Islamic Faction	0.8	0.5	1.4
PLO	0.3	0.4	0.5
Hizballah	0.8	0.9	0.7
Other Factions	0.8	0.9	0.7
Don't trust anyone	28.1	28.2	28.0
No answer	11.6	13.9	7.5

Q.10 Which Palestinian personality do you trust the most?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Yaser Arafat	25.7	23.7	29.1
Ahmad Yassin	12.2	9.2	17.3
Geroge Habash	0.5	0.3	0.9
Nayef Hawatmeh	0.2	0.1	0.2
Haidar Abdul Shafi	3.6	3.0	4.5
Faisal Husseini	1.0	0.9	1.1
Hanan Ashrawi	1.0	1.3	0.5
Sa'eb Erekat	4.2	5.3	2.3
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen)	0.9	1.2	0.5
Yasser Abe Rabbo	1.0	1.3	0.5
Marwan Bargouthi	2.6	2.0	3.6
Others	6.5	7.0	5.7
Don't trust anyone	31.9	33.9	28.6
No answer	8.7	10.8	5.2

Q.11 In general, how do you evaluate the Palestinian Authority's performance? Would say its performance is very good, bad, or very bad?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Very good	5.2	3.8	7.5
Good	50.3	55.2	41.8
Bad	23.4	22.0	25.7
Very bad	13.9	10.4	20.0
No answer	7.2	8.6	5.0

Q.12 How do you evaluate the performance of the following Palestinian Authority agencies?

Security agencies
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Good	31.5	29.8	34.5
Average	35.3	37.7	31.1
Bad	28.4	25.7	33.2
No answer	4.8	6.8	1.2

Legislative Council
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Good	19.3	17.8	22.0
Average	33.7	34.0	33.2
Bad	37.6	34.8	42.5
No answer	9.4	13.4	2.3

Ministerial Cabinet (Executive Authority)
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Good	21.3	20.7	22.3
Average	32.5	32.4	32.7
Bad	33.4	29.6	39.8
No answer	12.8	17.3	5.2

Palestinian Education System
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Good	54.1	52.4	57.0
Average	33.6	35.6	30.2
Bad	11.2	10.5	12.3
No answer	1.1	1.5	0.5

Palestinian Health System
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Good	48.6	42.2	59.8
Average	32.4	37.0	24.5
Bad	17.7	19.0	15.5
No answer	1.3	1.8	0.2

Palestinian Television
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Good	47.7	49.7	44.3
Average	34.6	35.0	33.9
Bad	15.3	11.9	21.4
No answer	2.4	3.4	0.4

Palestinian Radio (Voice of Palestin)
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Good	47.7	48.4	46.6
Average	33.7	35.0	31.4
Bad	15.4	12.6	20.2
No answer	3.2	4.0	1.8

Q.13 There will be elections held soon in Israel, which from a Palestinian viewpoint is better an Israeli government headed by the Labor Party (Barak) or an Israeli government headed by the Likud Party (Sharon or Netanyahu), or both of them are bad?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
An Israeli government headed by the Labor Party (Barak)	6.6	6.2	7.3
An Israeli government headed by the Likud Party (Sharon or Netanyahu)	4.1	5.8	1.1
Both are bad	86.0	83.7	90.0
No answer	3.3	4.3	1.6

Q.14 The United States acts as the sponsor of the peace process and a mediator in the negotiations. Do you believe that it is conducting its mediation in a biased manner towards the Palestinians, in a neutral manner of in a biased manner towards the Israelis?
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Biased manner towards the Palestinian	1.0	1.3	0.5
Neutral manner	3.1	4.1	1.4
Biased manner towards the Israelis	95.1	93.4	98.0
I don't know	0.7	0.9	0.1
No answer	0.1	0.3	0.0

Q.15 How optimistic or pessimistic are you about the future in general? Would you say you are:
 

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
	n= 1199	n=759	n=440
Very Optimistic	3.8	4.0	3.4
Optimistic	45.0	47.3	41.1
Pessimistic	37.0	35.6	39.5
Very Pessimistic	13.2	11.9	15.5
No answer	1.0	1.2	0.5