A public opinion poll (Arabic link) conducted recently found that nearly half of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip believe that Hamas movement is the main party responsible for the endless split between Gaza and the West Bank.
The poll was conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between February 25 and March 1, 2015.
According to the poll, a plurality of respondents, 34.3%, blamed Hamas for the continued division in the Palestinian territories. 23.1% put the responsibility on Fatah, 17.8% blamed both movements, and only 7.9% who blamed Israel.
It is noteworthy that the largest proportion of those who blames Hamas (42.7%) are from the Gaza Strip while 29.2% are from the West Bank. That means that nearly half of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip believe that Hamas carries the main responsibility for the split.
Hamas seized control of Gaza in a bloody 2007 coup, ousting the Fatah government of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Since then, the two sides have been in a severe schism, with one of the main points of contention between the two organization being Fatah’s official support for the peace process. Hamas rejects the peace process and wants to destroy Israel and create an Islamic Palestinian state in its place.
After several failed attempts, the two parties reached an agreement last year on the establishment of a unity government, but since then the various rivalries and ideological differences between the organizations have prevented any progress. Hamas has shown no real desire to end the schism, which would mean giving up much of its control of Gaza.
The poll also showed a clear setback to those who consider Hamas as the winning side in the conflict with Israel last summer. Last October, 57.1% thought that Hamas was the victor in the fighting, but this has plummeted to 40.4% in the current poll. It is also noticeable that the largest proportion of those who considered Hamas as the winning side (46.1%) were from the West Bank. Despite a propaganda campaign to support Hamas’ bravado, only 30.9% of residents of the Gaza Strip think that Hamas “won” the war.
The polling comports with reporting by Neri Zilber for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy that it is Israel, more than either the PA or Hamas, that is facilitating the reconstruction of Gaza.
[Photo: Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassem Brigades Website]