According to the latest poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Gaza Strip between 14-16 September 2017, an overwhelming majority of the PA and Gaza public is worried about the future of their liberties.

“This prevailing perception seems to be driven by the recent increase in the incidents in which journalists and activists have been arrested, by the recently announced presidential decree enacting a cybercrime law, and by the government proposed amendments to the Law of the Judiciary.

“A large majority believes that Palestinians cannot criticize the PA without fear. In fact, half of the public believes that the PA has now become a burden on the Palestinian people,” the PSR states.

Using a sample of 1270 adults interviewed face-to-face in 127 randomly selected locations, with a margin of error of 3 percent, the survey concludes that this “worry about the future of liberties, along with the concerns about the steps taken by the PA against the Gaza Strip, might be responsible for the increase in the demand for the resignation of […] [PA President Mahmoud] Abbas and the decline in his popularity compared to that of Hamas’ presidential candidate, Ismael Haniyeh. Indeed, if presidential elections were held today, Haniyeh would win against Abbas.”

The survey findings also indicate a decline in support for Fatah, particularly in the Gaza Strip where Hamas is more popular. Fatah’s popularity in the Gaza Strip stands at 28 percent, compared to 40 percent only nine months ago.

Gazans who still support Fatah are shifting loyalty to Mohammad Dahlan, whose popularity among Gazans has more than doubled during the past nine months, from 9 percent to 23 percent today. In the PA his popularity remains at less than 1 percent. Overall, in the PA Fatah remains more popular than Hamas.

These are the PSR findings regarding presidential and parliamentary elections:

67 percent of the public want Abbas to resign while 27 percent want him to remain in office. Three months ago, 62 percent said they want Abbas to resign.

Demand for Abbas’ resignation stands at 60 percent in the PA and 80 percent in the Gaza Strip. Three months ago demand for Abbas resignation stood at 55 percent in the PA and 75 percent in the Gaza Strip.

If Abbas does not nominate himself in a new election, 35 percent prefer to see Marwan Barghouti replacing him, while 21 percent prefer Ismail Haniyeh.

The level of satisfaction with the performance of Abbas stands at 31 percent and dissatisfaction at 65 percent. Level of satisfaction with Abbas stands at 38 percent in the PA and 21 percent in the Gaza Strip. Three months ago, satisfaction with Abbas stood at 34 percent (39 percent in the PA and 24 percent in the Gaza Strip).