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Media Silent on Shocking Palestinian Public Opinion Survey
A boy holds a placard as Palestinian Hamas supporters attend a rally against visits by Israelis to the Al-Aqsa mosque, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, May 26, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
On March 20, 2024, the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research published the results of its quarterly survey on the sentiments within Palestinian society regarding Israel, the ongoing war in Gaza, internal Palestinian politics, and the international community.
With much of the media’s attention turned to Gaza and the West Bank, and with Western leaders hoping to restart negotiations for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, one would think that the results of this survey would have been covered by all the mainstream media organizations.
However, with limited exceptions, practically no mainstream news outlet outside of Israel even reported on this survey’s findings and those that did cover it (Newsweek, The New Yorker, NBC News, and USA Today) only reported on certain results while ignoring others.
New poll from PCPSR regarding Palestinian opinion in the West Bank and Gaza.
PCPSR is a reputable source for Palestinian public opinion according to most experts.
This thread will highlight the shocking resultshttps://t.co/t4VkezMidp
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) March 20, 2024
In its report on the survey’s findings, NBC News highlighted the fact that support for Hamas has dropped among both Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. NBC also reported that, among Gazans, support for “armed armed struggle” has dropped while support for a two-state solution has risen.
The New Yorker similarly noted the seemingly promising results concerning the lower support for “armed struggle,” and the rise in support for a two-state solution among Gazans.
However, there are several flies in the ointment.
For example, while support for Hamas has fallen within Palestinian society, it is still the organization with the most support among Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank, and its support in the West Bank is still 20% higher than it was in September 2023 (before the October 7 attack and subsequent Israeli war against Hamas).
Furthermore, in response to a question about who Palestinians would vote for if another election was held today, Hamas still enjoys the most support among the Palestinian electorate, and it continues to poll higher today than it did in September 2023 (30% in March 2024 versus 21% in September).
Overall, Palestinians want Hamas back in power in Gaza, by a strong majority. pic.twitter.com/QGdQCOA5pz
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) March 20, 2024
Similarly, while it is true that support for “armed struggle” has fallen among those surveyed, it is still supported by the largest percentage of respondents — and in the West Bank, it is supported by the majority.
As both NBC News and the New Yorker noted, support for a two-state solution has risen among Palestinian respondents in Gaza.
However, in the West Bank (which would likely also be part of a two-state solution), support for a two-state solution hovered around little more than 30%.
Even in Gaza, where support for a two-state solution has risen to 62%, 52% of respondents opposed the restarting of negotiations for a two-state solution.
Other noteworthy results from this survey include:
The number of respondents who support Hamas’ launching of the October 7 attacks rose 14% in Gaza compared to December 2023, but dropped 11 percentage points to 71% in the West Bank.
The vast majority of respondents believe that Hamas did not commit atrocities during the October 7 attack. Among those who have watched videos from the attack, 81% believe that Hamas did not commit atrocities, while among those who did not watch these videos, the number rises to 97%.
Among Gazan respondents, the vast majority (70%) reported that aid distribution in the war-torn territory was discriminatory. Broken down, 90% said that aid distributed by local Palestinian groups was given out in a discriminatory fashion, while 70% said the same for aid given out by UNRWA.
The percentage of Palestinians who blame Hamas for the current suffering in Gaza dropped from 11% to 7% between December 2023 and March 2024. Among Gazans, the number of people who blame Hamas for their suffering dropped from 19% to 9% during this time period.
In both Gaza and the West Bank, the vast majority are still satisfied with the way Hamas and Yahya Sinwar have performed during the current war. While satisfaction with Hamas’ performance dropped to 75% in the West Bank, satisfaction with Hamas among Gazans actually rose 10 points to 62% since December 2023.
By either disregarding the entire survey or only focusing on a select few results, the media appears to be intent on continuing to spread the narrative that a two-state solution is tenable in the near future (and that a failure to reach one will fall largely at the feet of Israel’s right-wing government), that Hamas does not represent the Palestinians, and that UNRWA is a legitimate provider of aid in Gaza.
By choosing to continue with its simplistic image of Palestinian society by largely ignoring the uncomfortable results found in this survey, the media has not only failed to provide its audience with a complete picture of the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, it is also helping to construct a false paradigm through which foreign policymakers and domestic electorates will view the current conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Media Silent on Shocking Palestinian Public Opinion Survey first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
TRUMP THREAT
Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
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