Palestinian support for Hamas, rocket fire plummets, poll finds

A poll of attitudes in Gaza and the West Bank by a Palestinian group found a sharp drop in support for rocket attacks on Israel and a slight rise in backing for the moderate Fatah political movement.

The survey, conducted by the Ramallah-based Jerusalem Media and Communications Center, found that 38.4 percent of Palestinians supported firing rockets at Israel, Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported Wednesday.

The number was down from 74% support in a December poll, taken in the immediate wake of Israel’s anti-rocket fire operation in Gaza, which had led to a spike in support for Hamas and violent resistance at the time.

In April 2011, just over 25% of Palestinians supported rocket fire, according to the group.

The report also found slightly more backing for the ruling Fatah faction, which saw support climb from 38.5% to 42.6% among the Palestinian public.

Much of the backing came at the expense of rival group Hamas.

In December, 28.2% said they would vote for the hard-line Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, but that number dropped to 20.6% in March, the survey found.

In November, Israel waged an eight-day battle against Hamas in a bid to stem rocket fire on Israeli towns. The operation led to a swell in support for Hamas, whom many Palestinians saw as the victors in the mini-war, but the survey shows that public opinions may have swung back toward the center.

The group found that while nearly 51% of Palestinians supported “military” operations against Israel in December, by March that figure had dropped to 31.1%.

The survey was conducted by interviewing hundreds of Palestinians in late March and had a margin of error of 3%.