A new public opinion poll conducted in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank shows that an overwhelming majority of Palestinians think the decision to attack Israel is “right” but oppose the killing of Israeli women and children, CNN reports.

The survey was conducted by the Palestinian Center for Political and Sociological Research (PCPSR). 481 people were interviewed in the Gaza Strip and another 750 people in the West Bank. In Gaza, the data was collected after the cease-fire between Hamas and Israel took effect.

The poll, with a margin of error of 4 percentage points, found that almost 3-quarters (72%) of Palestinians believe that Hamas’ decision to launch an attack on Israel on October 7 was “correct”. Less than a quarter (22%) say she was wrong.

Khalil Shikaki, director of the PCPSR, however, points out that this does not mean that Palestinians automatically support the atrocities committed by the terrorist organization.

But, he said, “Palestinians believe that diplomacy and negotiation are no longer options available to them, and that only violence and armed struggle are the means by which the siege and blockade of Gaza and, more generally, the Israeli occupation.”

Almost 80% of those surveyed said the killing of women and children in their homes was a war crime, and an even higher percentage (85%) said they had not seen the videos broadcast by the international media of the atrocities. committed by Hamas.

This percentage also goes a long way in explaining why only 10% of people surveyed believe that Hamas committed war crimes on October 7.

Support for Hamas has exploded in the West Bank, which is governed by the Palestinian Authority

Shikaki argues that to a large extent, Palestinians’ views on events are distorted by the media they consume. But he says another factor may be a desire not to know too much to preserve the possibility of plausible deniability. A sociologist says that this is a useful thing in times of stress and pain.

Another poll finding is that support for Hamas in the West Bank nearly quadrupled between September and December 2023, from 12% to 44%, a situation Shikaki attributes to an increase in violent attacks by Israeli settlers there. against the Palestinians.

But even in Gaza, support for Hamas rose slightly from 38% to 42% over the same time period, despite devastating Israeli bombardment since the October 7 attack.

By contrast, support for Fattah, the secular nationalist party of Mahmoud Abbas that rules the West Bank through the Palestinian Authority, has fallen from 26% to 17% in the past 3 months. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the Palestinian Authority is perceived as a collaborator of Israel.

“Abbas himself’s approval rating is even lower — so low, in fact, that he is considered almost completely discredited,” CNN concluded.