Poll: Nearly 8 in 10 Palestinians say Israel 'painfully beaten' by Hamas

Survey also showed that more than 70% of the Palestinians are worried about the possibility of another military confrontation with Israel.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Hamas supporters celebrate with people what they said was a victory over Israel in Gaza City, August 27 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Hamas supporters celebrate with people what they said was a victory over Israel in Gaza City, August 27
(photo credit: REUTERS)
An overwhelming 77 percent majority of Gaza Strip residents believes that Israel has been “painfully beaten” by Hamas, a public opinion poll published on Monday in the West Bank showed.
The poll, conducted by the Beit-Sahour Palestinian Center for Public Opinion in mid-August, also showed that more than 70% of Gazans are worried about the possibility of another military confrontation with Israel.
The poll, which questioned 1,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, revealed that 52% of respondents support the resumption of the peace process with Israel, while 41% oppose it. Five percent said they had not made up their mind on this issue.
Asked about Operation Protective Edge, 55% of respondents said that Israeli deterrence has “receded” as a result of the war.
Dr. Nabil Kukali, president and founder of the survey center, said that the poll found that most Gazans evaluated their economic situation as bad and that their main concern at present is security and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
The poll found that only 23% of respondents saw the performance of the Palestinian “national consensus” government during the war to be good, as opposed to 43% who evaluated it as mediocre.