Youth and the Educated Palestinians are Becoming Less Supportive of Hamas and More Supportive of Fateh
Women are still more Supportive of Hamas
Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) had conducted an opinion poll dated 16-18 January 2008 after and during the latest Gaza attacks. A representative sample, of 3200 Palestinians, was interviewed in all West Bank and Gaza districts. The main results were published on January the 23rd showing a decline in the support for Fateh and a slight increase in the support for Hamas. One must note that the latest attacks on Gaza influenced Palestinian views on most issues. Other important factors in this poll were gender, age and education that are clearly correlated with political attitudes.
During the last decade, various polls had shown that women, youth and educated Palestinians comprised the main bulk of support for Hamas. This poll shows major shifts, where these groups do not seem to be as supportive of the movement as traditionally believed. The opposite is true for Fateh that seems to have made gains among young and educated respondents, but still lagging behind among women.
Following are examples of marked shifts in attitudes across age, education and gender.
Age and Attitudes: Marked Shifts
Attitudes towards various political issues are correlated with age. For example:
Younger respondents are more opposed to the division of Jerusalem between Palestinians and Israelis with exchange of authority over some neighborhoods, where 70% of the age group (30 or less) opposed such a scenario while only 51% of the age group 50 plus opposed.
Younger respondents were less inclined to follow-up news on the visit by President Bush compared with older respondents, where 28% of the youth said that they had heard or read the speech delivered by President Bush after his meeting with President Abbas, compared with 41% of older respondents.
In contrast, younger people are more optimistic than older respondents, regarding President Bush’s seriousness about his desire to establish a Palestinian state, where 22% of the youth said that he was serious compared with 16% among older respondents.
Younger respondents were more critical of Hanneyeh's cabinet than older respondents. About 43% of the youth said the performance of his government is weak, compared with 32% among older respondents. The opposite applies to the Fayyad cabinet.
Marking a major shift on the political affiliation of young people, this poll reveals that younger people are less supportive of Hamas than older people, where 16% of the youth declared support for Hamas, while 21% of the older respondents did the same.
The opposite is true for Fateh, where about 39% of the youth said they support the movement, compared with 26% among older respondents.
Younger people are more willing to vote for Marwan Bargouthi than older respondents. In a race against Hanneyeh, 51% of the youth said that they support him, compared with 35% of the older.
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