A new poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research finds that there is a particularly high rate of support for acts of violence against Israel among the Palestinian Arab public in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip.
The public opinion poll, conducted between December 7 and 10, finds that 72 percent of respondents support the idea of establishing armed battalions similar to the "Lions' Den" terrorist organization, which are not subject to the order of the Palestinian Authority and are not part of the official security forces.
87 percent of respondents said that the Palestinian Authority does not have the right to arrest operatives of the terrorist organizations to prevent them from carrying out attacks against Israel.
The Hamas movement and Marwan Barghouti, who is serving several life sentences in an Israeli prison for involvement in the murder of Israelis, are very popular among the Palestinian Arab public, the poll found.
The poll examined several scenarios of a run for the position of PA chairman between two candidates from Fatah and Hamas. In the contest between current PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the latter wins thanks to 54 percent of support compared to 34 percent for Abbas.
In a scenario where Barghouti runs against Haniyeh, Barghouti is expected to win thanks to 61 percent of support compared to 34 percent for Haniyeh.