LONDON: Public opinion among Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has undergone a pronounced shift, according to a recent poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center.
Almost two years after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, the survey presents a stark portrait of declining optimism, dwindling support for extremist factions, deep dissatisfaction with the Palestinian Authority, and growing questions over the future governance and the social fabric of the occupied Palestinian territories.
The poll, based on face-to-face interviews with a random sample of 715 adults in the West Bank and East Jerusalem between Sept. 4 and 8, reveals a sharp decline in optimism among Palestinians regarding both the future of their society and the trajectory of the ongoing war.
Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the southern Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP)
Just 5.5 percent of respondents describe themselves as “very optimistic” and 35.5 percent as “optimistic” about Palestinians’ future, while 27.1 percent are “pessimistic” and 31.3 percent “very pessimistic.”
