The battle in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has sent ripples throughout the world, but hardly anyone has paid attention to the people of Gaza themselves – until now.
Joe O’Connor (National Post, Cdn.) has the details of a Washington Institute for Near East Policy poll of the Gazan people from last month – and the poll makes it pretty clear that Hamas’ radical agenda (the destruction of Israel) and violent methods are not popular.
Among the findings:
57% of Gazans preferred a government that recognizes Israel and rejects violence.
70% wanted Hamas to maintain the ceasefire that it instead broke by firing rockets at Israel.
88% wanted the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority to take control of Gaza.
56% would work in Israel if given the chance
71% considered crime a significant problem and 64% considered corruption a significant problem
O’Connor also notes that Hamas is getting more support for starting the fighting outside Gaza than inside.
Among other things, the poll makes it clear that – at least in the Gaza strip – residents are more willing to co-exist with Israel than Hamas is. In fact, it may very well be Hamas’ terribly incompetent and corrupt leadership that turned Gazans’ views on this in the first place.
Either way, as Israel continues to ensure Hamas can no longer go on the attack, it might take care to remember that it has more potential support among the people of Gaza than it realizes.
