JMCC Public Opinion Poll No. 7
On Palestinian Attitudes
to more than one year of Autonomy
June 1995
A random sample of 1,397 Palestinians, over the age of 18 years, were interviewed face-to-face throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip on 15 & 16 June 1995. The interviews were conducted on randomly selected homes, and the subjects inside each home were also selected randomly according to Kish tables. The interviews were conducted in 52 sampling points chosen randomly according to population.
In the West Bank, 892 people were surveyed from the following areas: Bethlehem: Deiheishe Refugee Camp, Handaza, Jerusalem: Jabel Mukabber, Sour Baher. Hebron: Halhoul, Hebron, Tarqoumya, Yatta, Bani Na'im, Jenin: Jenin, Qabatya, Ijjeh, Sansour, Toubas. Qalqilia: Qalqilia. Nablus: Nablus, Salem, Abwein, Kufr Ni'meh, Nur Shams RC and Qafin. Ramallah: Ramallah, Single. Jericho: Jericho.
In the Gaza Strip, 5.5 people were surveyed from: Gaza, Shate' RC, Nusseirtat, Rafah, Jabalya, Deir al-Balah, Rimal, Asqoula, Beit Lahia.
The major of error is plus or minus 3% with a confidence level of 95%.
Q.1 With the passage of one year of autonomy (Gaza-Jericho), how do you feel about the Palestinian future? Are you:
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| Optimistic |
57.9% |
52.1% |
68.1% |
| Pessimistic |
27.0% |
29.6% |
22.6% |
| Other |
6.7% |
8.6% |
3.8% |
| No opinion |
8.4% |
9.7% |
5.5% |
Q.2 Withthe passage of a year since the implementation of autonomy, do you feel:
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip | |
| More secure |
47.9% |
35.8% |
69.3% |
| Less secure |
20.5% |
24.9% |
12.9% |
| No change |
29.6% |
36.7% |
17.2% |
| No opinion |
2.0% |
2.7% |
0.6% |
Q.3 With the passage of a year since the implementation of autonomy, how has your support for it changed:
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| I never supported it |
20.7% |
22.5% |
17.4% |
| I used to, and support increased |
27.5% |
27.5% |
27.7% |
| I used to, and my support didn't change |
27.0% |
23.4% |
33.5% |
| I used to, and my support decrease |
15.2% |
14.3% |
16.8% |
| I used to, but now I don't |
3.6% |
4.4% |
2.2% |
| No opinion |
6.0% |
7.8% |
2.4% |
Q. 4 What is your evaluation of the Palestinian National Authority one year since it began work?
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| Good |
40.5% |
40.6% |
40.4% |
| Average |
32.3% |
29.1% |
38.0% |
| Bad |
17.0% |
16.8% |
17.4% |
| Other |
2.1% |
2.7% |
1.0% |
| No opinion |
8.1% |
10.8% |
3.2% |
Q.4-a For those who answered "average" or "bad": You evaluate the authority's performance this way because:
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| The PA's practices |
23.0% |
20.2% |
27.8% |
| The agreement with Israel |
22.6% |
23.7% |
20.8% |
| Israeli measures |
26.1% |
24.5% |
28.7% |
| Donor aid |
8.8% |
7.7% |
10.7% |
| More than one of the above |
5.1% |
5.8% |
4.3% |
| No opinion |
14.3% |
18.1% |
7.6% |
Q.5 How do you evaluate the performance of the following National Authority apparatuses?
TOTAL
|
Education |
Health |
PECDAR |
Preventive Security |
Tax Authority |
Police |
|
| Good |
64.9% |
47.6% |
28.9% |
39.0% |
22.7% |
49.4% |
| Average |
22.4% |
27.3% |
28.1% |
21.7% |
24.2% |
26.0% |
| Poor |
5.2% |
14.2% |
16.5% |
21.4% |
23.2% |
8.8% |
| No answer |
7.5% |
10.9% |
26.5% |
17.9% |
29.8% |
15.8% |
Q.6 Negotiations are being held to implement the autonomy experiment in the West Bank. What is your opinion?
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| I support this |
74.9% |
71.3% |
81.4% |
| I oppose this |
15.7% |
17.8% |
12.1% |
| No opinion |
9.4% |
19.9% |
6.5% |
Q.7 Do you believe President Arafat is carrying out his work as head of the National Authority:
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| Well |
52.0% |
46.7% |
61.4% |
| Average |
24.7% |
26.1% |
22.2% |
| Poorly |
13.9% |
15.8% |
10.5% |
| No opinion |
9.4% |
11.3% |
5.9% |
Q.8 After the passage of a year since the return of President Yasser Arafat and his assumption of the leadership of the Palestinian National Authority, has your support increased, decreased, not changed or did you never support him?
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| I never supported him |
18.1% |
19.8% |
15.0% |
| I used to, and my support increased |
30.7% |
29.4% |
33.1% |
| I used to, and my support didn't change |
28.8% |
26.6% |
32.9% |
| I used to, and my support decreased |
13.2% |
13.3% |
13.1% |
| I used to, but I don't any more |
2.8% |
3.7% |
1.2% |
| No opinon |
6.4% |
7.2% |
4.8% |
Q.9 After the passage of a year since the return of President Yasser Arafat and his assumption of leadership of autonomy, how do you evaluate him in the following areas:
TOTAL
|
PNA Administration |
Administration of negotiations with Israel |
Administration of Palestinian Economy |
Decision-making |
|
| Good |
45.2% |
30.7% |
24.3% |
36.5% |
| Average |
30.2% |
33.0% |
31.7% |
26.7% |
| Poor |
12.0% |
26.0% |
30.0% |
22.5% |
| No answer |
12.6% |
10.3% |
14.0% |
14.3% |
Q.10 If Palestinian political elections are held soon, do you think President Arafat should nominate himself?
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| Yes |
67.8% |
64.5% |
73.9% |
| No |
20.6% |
22.9% |
16.6% |
| No opinion |
11.6% |
13.6% |
9.5% |
Q.11 Do you believe President Arafat is a democratic or undemocratic person?
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| Yes, democratic |
45.1% |
41.4% |
51.7% |
| No, undemocratic |
24.6% |
28.0% |
18.6% |
| No, but he is justified in being undemocratic |
11.7% |
10.4% |
14.1% |
| Other |
2.0% |
1.8% |
2.4% |
| No opinion |
16.6% |
18.4% |
13.3% |
Q.12 President Arafat has been considered a symbole of the struggle and aspirations of the Palestinian people and Palestinian cause. What do you think today?
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| He was and still a symbole for the Palestinian people and cause |
60.9% |
55.9% |
69.9% |
| He is no longer a symbol for the Palestinian people and cause |
22.5% |
25.8% |
16.6% |
| Other |
4.4% |
4.3% |
4.6% |
| No opinion |
12.2% |
14.0% |
8.9% |
Q.13 Do you agree to giving up the 1948 lands in return for a final solution stipulating a Palestinian state in West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem as its capital (the 1967 borders)?
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| Yes |
31.8% |
30.2% |
34.9% |
| No |
60.7% |
60.2% |
61.8% |
| No opinion |
7.5% |
9.6% |
3.4% |
Q.14 Do you believe Jordan deals with the Palestinian issue:
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| With good intentions |
9.3% |
10.0% |
8.1% |
| With bad intentions |
17.7% |
18.5% |
16.4% |
| According to Jordanian national interests |
65.3% |
63.6% |
68.5% |
| No opinion |
7.7% |
7.9% |
6.9% |
Q.15 Is Rabin sincere about implementing the agreements he signed with the Palestinian?
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| Yes |
9.9% |
9.4% |
10.9% |
| No |
80.1% |
81.3% |
78.2% |
| No opinion |
10.0% |
9.3% |
10.9% |
Q.16 If Labor falls and Likud takes over the Israeli government in the coming elections, do you think the general Palestinian political situation will:
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| Improve |
6.8% |
7.4% |
5.7% |
| Worsen |
47.8% |
46.5% |
50.1% |
| Remain the same |
30.5% |
31.1% |
29.7% |
| No opinion |
14.9% |
15.0% |
14.5% |
Q.17 How much do you trust the intentions of the following Israeli parties toward the Palestinians:
TOTAL
|
Labor/Yitzhak Rabin |
Likud/Binyamin Netanyahu |
Meretz/Yossi Sarid |
Hadash/Hashem Mahameed |
Arab Democratic Party/Abdul Wahab Darawshe |
|
| Good |
12.3% |
2.0% |
18.2% |
56.9% |
62.7% |
| Poor |
7.5% |
2.0% |
4.4% |
5.6% |
5.4% |
| Average |
60.2% |
73.2% |
44.9% |
13.1% |
12.0% |
| No opinion |
20.0% |
22.8% |
32.5% |
24.4% |
19.9% |
Q.18 Do you think armed resistance against Israel is still legitimate under the current political situation?
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| Yes |
43.2% |
46.7% |
34.7% |
| No |
43.3% |
37.7% |
53.5% |
| Other |
2.1% |
1.5% |
3.2% |
| No opinion |
12.3% |
14.1% |
8.7% |
Q.19 Do you support continued Hamas and Islamic Jihad suicide operations against Israeli targets under the current political situation?
|
Total |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
|
| Yes |
32.8% |
34.8% |
29.5% |
| No |
52.3% |
48.4% |
59.2% |
| Other |
2.2% |
1.8% |
3.0% |
| No opinion |
12.7% |
15.0% |
8.3% |
Q.19-a If you answered yes, why?*
|
Total |
|
| It's the best way to regain our rights, no other solution |
24.4% |
| It's an alternative to the peace process, the peace process is not in our best interest |
8.3% |
| Because occupation still exists, to liberate our country |
18.3% |
| As pressure on Israel |
13.7% |
| Israel understands only power, because of Israeli provocations, revenge |
18.1% |
| For the sake of Islam, to liberate Islamic holy sites |
9.4% |
| Other |
5.4% |
| No opinion |
2.4% |
Q.20 What are the two political or religious factions you trust the most?
|
Total |
|
| Fateh |
46.6% |
| Hamas |
18.2% |
| PFLP |
4.4% |
| DFLP |
0.7% |
| Jihad |
4.3% |
| People's Party |
1.4% |
| FIDA |
0.3% |
| Other Islamic Groups |
1.1% |
| 'Pro-peace' secularists |
0.4% |
| 'Anti-peace' secularists |
0.1% |
| Don't trust anyone |
6.4% |
| No opinion |
16.0% |
Q.21 What two Palestinian figures do you trust the most?
|
Total |
|
| Yasser Arafat |
39.4% |
| Ahmed Yassin |
10.9% |
| Haider Abdul Shafi |
7.1% |
| Faisal Husseini |
3.4% |
| George Habash |
2.9% |
| Hanan Ashrawi |
2.9% |
| Yasser Abed Rabbo |
1.9% |
| Farouk Qaddoumi |
1.7% |
| Nabil Sha'ath |
1.6% |
| Mahmoud Zahhar |
1.0% |
| Other personalities |
6.9% |
| No opinion |
20.3% |