Occupied Palestine | فلسطين

90% of Palestinians would no longer back the peace process if West Bank settlement building restarted

49% of Palestinians believe the peace process will continue even if West Bank settlement building restarts  

53% of Palestinians believe Mahmoud Abbas is the legitimate voice of the Palestinian people

 

57% of Palestinians believe Hamas should be involved in the peace talks

 

Dubai, 01 November 2010. These are the first published survey results from our new series of polls gauging opinion amongst Palestinians.

434 Palestinian residents, both West Bank and Gaza, responded to the survey during the period 3 – 16 October 2010.

The issue of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank is critical to the success of any direct peace talks. 90% of respondents would no longer back the peace process if settlement building recommenced. However, only 49% believed that the expiration of the Israeli settlement moratorium (on 30 September) would bring an end to this round of peace talks.

Palestinian representation is a sensitive issue as Hamas, who retain control over the Gaza Strip, are still officially recognised by the US as a terrorist organisation. When asked whether Hamas should be involved in the peace talks 57% of our respondents said yes (although interestingly this was higher in the West Bank 62%, than in Gaza 52%). Only 53% of respondents believe that Mahmoud Abbas is the legitimate voice of the Palestinian people (50% in the West Bank, 57% Gaza).

Inevitably in political talks of this magnitude the personalities of the individuals involved will be a significant factor. When asked which head of state had impressed them during these negotiations, a resounding majority (63%) of our respondents thought that none had impressed them. Although when asked which head of state was the most influential Barack Obama was the clear leader with 41%. When asked which other parties involved in the talks had impressed them it was the Palestinians who gained favour, Saeb Ariqat (Palestinian negotiator) 30% and Nabil Abu Rudeina (President Abbas’ spokesperson) 13%.

When asked for their overall perceptions of the peace talks, 61% of respondents’ opinion was negative as opposed to 16% which was positive.

The top 3 reasons given for negative sentiment were:

1) It’s just like any other peace talks,

2) Palestinians and Israelis will not be able to reach a compromise,

3) Hamas and Fatah cannot reach agreement for Palestinians so how will Palestinians reach agreement with Israel?

When asked for the likelihood of success of the current peace talks, respondents’ opinion was similarly negative with 60% believing that the likelihood of success was ‘unlikely’ whilst only 24% thought that the likelihood of success was ‘likely’. Expectations of respondents should these talks fail is war of some kind, whether it be between Israelis and Palestinians or a wider theatre involving regional and/or international players.

On a wider note, we sought to find out whether the Palestinians thought that the two-state solution, currently being propagated, was the only solution. The response we got was mixed, 51% thought yes whilst 49% thought no. 47% of respondents would accept a single Israeli-Palestinian state if they were given equal rights (32% opted for no, 21% were undecided).

We asked each of our respondents what one statement they would like to make to the leaders negotiating for peace. Responses varied but three of the more apt ones are detailed below (quoted verbatim):

1) ‘I say to them that the status of the Palestinian people is getting worse every day. I wish there are solutions so we restore some of our dignity and carry on with our lives.’

2) ‘We want to live in peace, we want freedom. Please work on achieving it for a nation that has lived under the oppression of occupation for over 60 years.’

3) ‘They should only abide by the International Laws and UN resolutions; as this will solve the Palestinian case.’

Lara Al Barazi, Associate Research Director, YouGov Siraj commenting on the results said

“YouGov Siraj is offering Palestinians- living in Palestine- a great platform to voice their opinions. Going through the results, we easily detected the frustration Palestinians feel not only from the current economic and political conditions, but most importantly for not being heard. Palestinians are obviously eager to have a final solution to their ongoing struggle and live a peaceful life like any other citizen of the world.”

YouGov Siraj continues to show that it is able to measure and gauge the opinions of real people across the region on real issues every day.

-Ends-

About YouGov Siraj
YouGov Siraj is a full-service market research company that covers the full spectrum of the Muslim world from Morocco in the west to Pakistan in the east, specialising in online polling and qualitative research. YouGov Siraj has the region’s largest pure research panel of 225,000+ members, who respond to surveys. The company has particularly strong analytical skills, with research specialists who have many years regional experience. YouGov Siraj acts as a research consultancy for clients on research projects of any size, outsourcing face-to-face and telephone data collection, ensuring the very best service the region can offer. It is a subsidiary company of YouGov Plc, based in the UK and applies the same online methodology, which has proven levels of accuracy.

For further information contact:
Anthony Smith,
usiness Development Director,
YouGov Siraj
Tel: 00971 4 434 7594 / 00971 50 650 8938
anthony.smith@yougov.com

 

© Press Release 2010

via 90% of Palestinians would no longer back the peace process if West Bank settlement building restarted.