Polls & Research

Government Will Collapse, Say Palestinians

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the Gaza Strip and West Bank express no confidence in their current administration's capacity to govern, according to a poll by An-Najah National University. 68.6 per cent of respondents think the unity government will collapse at some point, and 90.9 per cent assess their current conditions as bad.

Fatah candidate Mahmoud Abbas won the January 2005 presidential ballot with 62.32 per cent of all cast ballots. In January 2006, Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Council election, securing 74 of the 112 seats at stake. Ismail Haniyeh officially took over as prime minister in March. The Israeli government believes Hamas is directly responsible for the deaths of 377 citizens in a variety of attacks, which include dozens of suicide bombings.

On Feb. 8 in Saudi Arabia, Hamas and Fatah leaders reached an accord which set the guidelines for a power-sharing Palestinian administration, headed by Hamas, which would "respect" past peace agreements with Israel. The new coalition government was sworn in on Mar. 17.

This month, Hamas militants have launched more than 200 rockets into Israel. The Israeli government has retaliated with air strikes targeting suspected compounds and businesses that allegedly transfer money to Hamas.

On May 24, the Israeli government announced the arrest of 33 Palestinians, including education minister Nasser Eddin al-Shaer. Government spokeswoman Miri Eisin declared: "We have information that connects all those arrested to terrorist activity."

Polling Data

Do you think the unity government will continue to perform its duties, ot will it collapse?

How would you assess the current conditions of the Palestinian territories?