ANALYSIS – It depends on whether they live under Hamas rule or not. A big question being asked as Israeli forces blast Hamas hideouts in Gaza, and sadly kill thousands of civilians in the process, is how much the people of Gaza, and Palestinians in general, support the terrorist group that ran the Gaza strip.
Israeli officials have at times argued that the entire population of Gaza is part of Hamas's terrorist infrastructure and is, therefore, a legitimate target of Israeli retaliation. And there is some truth to that.
This is especially valid since Hamas has embedded itself into every aspect of Gazan society, has a massive web of terror tunnels underneath the entire enclave, and uses all its civilian facilities and structures, including homes, mosques, schools and hospitals as human shields.
And there appeared to be widespread celebration in Gaza on the day of the brutal Hamas terror attack on Israel.
Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, has ruled Gaza since splitting with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2007. The PA exercises limited governance in the West Bank.
Still, while it's almost impossible to calculate Gazan support for Hamas now in midst of war, and difficult to know for certain even before, some polls conducted just prior to the attack can provide some ideas.
Surveys by the Arab Barometer and Washington Institute conducted before the Israel-Hamas war found that a substantial number of Gazans were frustrated with the terrorist group's leadership.
In early October, Arab Barometer, a research network on Arab countries, surveyed Gaza, and the West Bank. The next day, October 7, Hamas launched its brutal attack on Israel, and the Israel-Hamas war broke out.
“We find in our surveys that 67 percent of Palestinians in Gaza had little or no trust in Hamas in that period right before the attacks,” said said Amaney Jamal, dean of Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs and one of the driving forces behind the Arab Barometer.
“Seventy-five per cent said they could not afford to feed their households,” said Jamal.
“When we ask people, who do you blame? We thought that the number-one culprit was going to be Israel because of the blockade. But most people cited Hamas corruption, more so than they cited the Israel blockade.”
Ahead of the attacks on Israel, more than half of respondents favored a two-state solution – a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Just one in five supported armed resistance before the events of October 7 and the Israeli military response that followed.
But all of that may be moot, since according to a survey from a respected Palestinian polling institute, almost three in four Palestinians now believe the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel was correct, and the ensuing Gaza war has lifted support for the Islamist group both in Gaza and in the West Bank.
The Palestinian Center for Policy Survey and Research (PCPSR) conducted the recent polling. Seventy-two percent of respondents said they believed the Hamas decision to launch their murderous rampage in southern Israel was “correct,” while 22% said it was “incorrect.” The rest were undecided or gave no answer.
But the breakdown of the Palestinians is important.
The PCPSR found that, compared to pre-war polling, support for Hamas had risen in Gaza and more than tripled in the West Bank.
Fifty-two percent of Gazans and 85% of West Bank respondents – or 72% of Palestinian respondents overall – voiced satisfaction with the role of Hamas in the war.
Still, that means that even after the Israeli onslaught, barely half of those Palestinians under Hamas rule in Gaza, who are suffering the results of the Hamas terror war against Israel, support their terrorist leaders.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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