A new opinion poll by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) has found a significant drop in support for Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
According to the poll's findings, 80% of Palestinian Arabs believe that Abbas should step down, with only 13% supporting the chairman.
77% of respondents said they believe that the PA should not be the one to control the Gaza Strip, but rather Hamas should.
Political analyst Mohsen Saleh noted that the poll results are not surprising, but rather reflect a consistent trend, especially during the last few years and after the October 7th Massacre, as six consecutive polls by the center have shown.
Speaking to the Palestinian Arab Quds Press, Saleh noted that Abbas’s declining status is due to his "monopoly on political decision-making and his sole control of power, through the disruption of Palestinian institutional work.”
He added that "Abbas responded to Israeli and American pressures by excluding resistance forces, especially Hamas, from political participation, and that the decrees he issued were designed to ensure results tailored to his own and the Fatah movement's needs."
Saleh also stated that the Palestinian leadership's approach after the October 7th Massacre was negative, and it persecuted resistance operatives in Judea and Samaria in collaboration with Israel during the war. "The Palestinian street now sees resistance as the only response to this reality."