This report of a survey (taken the day before the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas) shows that Hamas has had few supporters in Gaza. If there was doubt about the sentiment among Palestinians in Gaza regarding Hamas’s rule, a survey completed in Gaza the day before the Oct. 7 assault on Israel gave a useful glimpse into how unpopular the group is. Just 27 percent said that Hamas was their preferred political party. Hamas last won an election in 2006; it has not held another. Hamas calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, but the poll found that 54 percent of people in Gaza supported the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as outlined by the Oslo Accords, and nearly three-quarters said they supported a peaceful resolution to the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Source: New York Times November 13, 2023 20:35 UTC