The number of Palestinians who support a two-state solution has decreased, following Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision in April to call off the Palestinian elections, according to a Palestinian public opinion poll.
While support for a two-state solution has dropped, the number of Palestinians who support a binational state solution has increased, according to the poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center.
The percentage of those who believe a two-state solution is the best way to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict dropped from 39% in April to 29%, while the percentage of those who support a binational one-state solution rose from 21% in April to 26% in October, the poll showed.
In the West Bank, support for a one-state solution (30%) polled even higher than a two-state solution (23%), while in the Gaza Strip a two-state solution (37%) remains the preferred option over a one-state solution (19%).
The largest percentage of respondents still believes peaceful negotiations are the best method for “ending the occupation”; 33% support this method; 33% support armed resistance; and 20% support “popular resistance as the best way to end the occupation and establish a Palestinian state.”
The poll revealed what was described as “citizens’ thirst for legislative and presidential elections.”
More than 70% of those polled said that Abbas should announce a new date for elections, while 18% said he should not.
Furthermore, nearly half of respondents said they had planned to participate in the postponed elections, as opposed to 42% who said they had not planned to vote.
The poll found that Abbas’s Fatah faction would win the parliamentary election if it was held today: 34% said they would vote for Fatah (44% in the Gaza Strip and 27% in the West Bank), while 10% said they would vote for Hamas.
More than 34% said they would not vote.
The results showed a huge setback in the level of satisfaction in how Abbas performs as president of the PA: 35%, as opposed to 50% in April.
Meanwhile, the percentage of those dissatisfied with his performance rose to 57% from 42% in April.
Polls conducted by another Palestinian center found that more than 70% of the Palestinian public wants Abbas to step down.
The JMCC poll showed that more than 70% of Palestinians support basing the Personal Status Law on Islamic Sharia law.
The poll, which has a three percent margin of error, covered 1,200 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.