Polls also show improvement in PA PM Salam Fayyad's ratings
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHfayyad lookin formal 311(photo credit: AP)
A majority of Palestinians are opposed to the Palestinian Authority’s decision to ban laborers from working in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, according to a public opinion poll published in Ramallah on Wednesday.The poll, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, showed that 63 percent of the Palestinians oppose preventing Palestinian laborers from working in settlements although 72% support a boycott of these communities’ products.A total of 1,270 Palestinians participated in the poll, which was conducted June 10-13 and has a margin error of three percent.The results showed a significant improvement in the standing of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.If new elections were held today, Fayyad would receive 19% as opposed to 34% for PA President Mahmoud Abbas.But if Fayyad ran for the PA presidency against Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh, he would defeat him by 36%-32%, the results showed.According to the poll, Abbas would defeat Haniyeh by 54%-39% in a new election.In a parliamentary election, the results showed, Fatah would get 45% of the vote, while Hamas would receive only 26%.Last March, another poll gave Fatah 42% and Hamas 28%.Asked which country they believe is the most supportive of the Palestinian cause, 43% mentioned Turkey, while only 13% said Egypt.
