Methodology
A random sample of 1,190 Palestinians, over the age of
17 years, were interviewed throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip on 18/19/20
February 1993. The interviews were conducted on a face-to-face basis with
people who visited general service offices to fill out application forms
for their identity cards, travel documents, birth registrations, etc, in
the main towns. The interviewers reported that some people filled out their
questionnaire by themselves in the presence of the interviewer.
In the West Bank, approximately 690 questionnaires were
allocated to each of the following major towns: Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqilia,
Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Jericho. In the
Gaza Strip, 500 questionnaired were divided between: Gaza, Khan Younis
and Rafah areas.
Of the 1,400 questionnaires, we received back 1,190 completed
questionnaires. A few were discounted, either because the respondent was
under 17 years of age or because the answers were not clear.
Sample Distribution
-
63.5% of the respondents were from the West Bank
-
36.5% from the Gaza Strip
-
21.7% said they live in villages
-
26.9% in refugee camps
-
51.4% in towns/cities
-
(these percentages may not reflect the actual population
distribution eg. in the Gaza Strip the percentage of refugees is much higher
than in the West Bank)
-
85.4% were male
-
14.5% were female
-
(the interviewers reported that a large number of women declined
to be interviewed, particularly in the Gaza Stripl)
-
The average of age of the respondents was 32 years, 95% of
the sample ranged from 17 to 49 years.
Occupation respondents
Students 15.4%
Waged labourers 15.3%
Housewives 4.7%
Office employees/teachers/accountants 24.1%
Merchants 14.5%
Farmers 2.1%
Craftsmen 5.7%
Doctors/lawyers/pharmacists/engineers 6.9%
Unemployed 8.3%
Others 3.0%
Results
Q.1 Do you think that the Palestinian delegation should
not return to the negotiations until the issue of the expellees is solved?
|
Total
|
| Yes |
83.7%
|
| No |
14.0%
|
| No opinion /other |
2.2%
|
Q.2 Do you think that the Palstinian delegation should
return to the negotiations after the expellee problem has been adequately
solved?
|
Total
|
| Yes |
60.6%
|
| No |
34.4%
|
| No opinion/other |
4.0%
|
Q.3 Do you think that the Palestinian delegation should
not return to the negotiations even after a solution to the expellees problem?
|
Total
|
| Yes |
32.2%
|
| No |
63.7%
|
| No opinion/ other |
4.0%
|
Q. 4 Do you think that the United States can play the
role of mediator in the negotiations given its stand on the expellees problem?
|
Total
|
| Yes |
40.8%
|
| No |
53.3%
|
| No opinion/ other |
5.9%
|
Q.5 If an acceptable solution to the expellees problem
is found, do you think that negotiations are an appropriate method to solve
Palestinian problem?
|
Total
|
| Negotiations will never yield any good results for the
Palestinians |
31.9%
|
| The negotiations are an appropriated method for solving
the Palestinian problem |
13.7%
|
| The negotiations will yield results but not sufficient
ones |
50.7%
|
| Other, please specify |
3.7%
|
Q.6 Who do you think represents the Palestinian People?
|
Total
|
| The PLO |
58.1%
|
| The Islamic movements |
12.4%
|
| True representation can only be achieved through direct
elections |
26.1%
|
| Other, please specify |
3.4% |
Q. 7 The attitude of Palestinians in the West Bank &
Gaza Strip to the question of who they think represents the Palestinian
people?
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| PLO |
676
|
(394) 56.0%
|
(282) 66.0%
|
| Islamic movement |
144
|
(74) 10.5%
|
(70) 16.6%
|
| Direct elections |
303
|
(234) 33.0%
|
(69) 16.0%
|
| Total |
1123
|
737
|
426
|
