Poll: Plurality of Palestinians want Barghouti to succeed Abbas

4 July 2018, 5:29 pm

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Palestinians would pick Marwan Barghouti to succeed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas if fresh elections were held, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Barghouti, a member of Abbas’s Fatah party who is serving five life sentences in Israel for terror convictions, would win 39 percent of the vote, Reuters reported the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research as saying.

Following Barghouti is Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas terror group, who would pick up 23% of the vote.

Additionally, 48% of respondents said rival Palestinian groups would agree to hold elections after Abbas goes, while 41% percent said they do not believe this will be the case.