Hamas more popular since Gaza operation
As I read this story, I was reminded of the commercial in the US with the fried egg in the frying pan that says "this is your brain on drugs." The 'Palestinians' must be on drugs for Hamas' popularity to increase as a result of what happened in Gaza last month. And Israel's leadership must have been on drugs to suspend Operation Cast Lead before totally defeating Hamas. Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza, which killed more than 1,300 people and left large swathes of the territory in ruins, has boosted the popularity of the Islamists, an opinion poll found on Thursday.And there's more bad news for Abu Mazen....
Hamas would get 28.6 percent of the vote compared with 27.9 percent for the rival Fatah faction of Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas if elections were held today, according to the survey by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre.
It marks the first time that an opinion poll has placed Hamas in front of Fatah, which it ousted from the Gaza Strip in deadly fighting in June 2007 [But see below CiJ].
Ironically Thursday's poll found that Hamas has stronger support in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, still administered by Abbas, than it does in its own Gaza bastion.Are the
In Gaza, the poll put Hamas at 28 percent against 33.6 percent for Abbas' Fatah [See above. It's not clear to me which numbers are correct. CiJ]. In the West Bank, the poll gave Hamas 29 percent support against 24.5 percent for its rival.It looks like the 'Palestinians' in Judea and Samaria believe the Hamas propaganda, while the 'Palestinians' in Gaza can walk out their front doors and see who really won.
The balance was shared by a myriad of smaller parties.
Some 27.7 percent of those questioned said they trusted Hamas, compared with 26 percent for Fatah.
The poll found that Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, who Abbas dismissed after the Islamist takeover of Gaza, is the most trusted Palestinian politician with 21.1 percent support, far ahead of the incumbent president with 13.4 percent.
When asked who won the war in Gaza, 53.3 percent of people in the West Bank said Hamas, compared with 35.2 percent in Gaza.
Still, there is something profoundly wrong with people who get their butts handed to them by an enemy because of their government's behavior and it just makes them support that government even more. Some people might call that suicidal.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:47 PM
3 Comments:
Carl - if you were a Palestinian and the world subsidized and abetted your self-destructive behavior, you have no incentive to ever change it. You will get rewarded anyway!
No wonder Hamas remains popular.
What are they smoking and where can I get some? It must be reeeeealy good stuff.
It's probably an indication that the reported death and destruction due to Cast Lead have been wildly exaggerated. ( I know that's hard to believe.)
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