YONI BEN MENACHEM -- A new poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah shows that around 70% of Palestinians oppose disarming Hamas, even if it is required to end the war.
Support for keeping Hamas’s weapons is strongest in the West Bank (78%), compared to 55% in Gaza, reflecting a broad consensus that maintaining “resistance arms” is a red line despite political and geographic divisions.
The survey, published on October 28, shows that Hamas remains more popular than Fatah in every potential election scenario. About 60% of respondents expressed satisfaction with Hamas’s performance, while Mahmoud Abbas’s support fell to just 21%, and 80% demanded his resignation.
Support for Hamas has grown over the past two years, particularly in the West Bank — a trend the center attributes to a belief that “armed resistance remains the only effective tool against the occupation, despite the cost of war.”