From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
New Palestinian poll shows decline in support for Hamas
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent
A poll by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research shows a decline in support for Hamas, particularly among Palestinians in the West Bank.
The survey, conducted earlier this month, found that 42 percent of respondents expressed satisfaction with Hamas’s performance during the war with Israel, down from 60% in the previous poll conducted in late October 2025.
In the West Bank, 45% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the terror group, a sharp drop from 66% who were happy with Hamas 10 months ago. In Gaza, the fall-off was slightly less pronounced, going from 51% in October to 38% in the more recent poll.
In the previous poll, conducted in the immediate aftermath of the Gaza ceasefire deal, 39% of respondents overall said Hamas had emerged victorious. Today, that figure has fallen to 20%, with another 15% saying Israel won and 60% maintaining that neither side emerged victorious.
In the West Bank, the proportion of respondents who believe Hamas won the war fell sharply, from 48% in October 2025 to 21% in August 2026.
Asked which Palestinian political faction they support, 24% of respondents said Fatah and an identical 24% said Hamas. In the last poll, 35% said they supported Hamas, while 24% backed Fatah.
That decline was also particularly pronounced in the West Bank, where support for Hamas fell from 32% in October 2025 to 18% in the latest poll.
Seventy-two percent of respondents said the terror group should not give up its weapons before a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, while 20% said it should.
Nearly 50% of respondents say they believe Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that Palestinian legislative elections will be held at the end of November. Elections have not been held since 2006, with plans for a vote repeatedly called off for Abbas in the last two decades.
Were presidential elections held, imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti remains the most popular candidate, with 56% saying they would vote for him over Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya (26%) or Abbas (14%).
The poll, overseen by Khalil Shikaki, surveyed 830 Palestinians in the West Bank and 440 in the Gaza Strip between August 5 and 8. It carries a 3.5% margin of error.
The Times of Israel Community.