Local Editor
Irna – A Palestinian public opinion poll commissioned by The Washington Institute showed that Iran and Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah are popular among Palestinians.
The poll which was done last month, fielded by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion based in Beit Sahour near Bethlehem in the West Bank, consisted of personal interviews with a representative geographic probability sample of 919 respondents, yielding a statistical margin of error of approximately 3.5%.
Asked their view of Iran’s policies, a narrow majority give a favorable response: 55% in the West Bank, and a statistically identical 57% in Gaza.
And the approval rating for ISIL is way down in the low single digits in both the West Bank and Gaza — just as it is in every other Arab society recently polled.
To fully understand Palestinians’ attitudes toward Iran, it is useful to look at the way they perceive Iranian policies and Iran’s key Arab allies. Hezbollah, for example, garners a remarkable 69% approval rating among West Bankers. Among Gazans, that figure is somewhat lower — yet still an impressive 57%. Hezbollah’s popularity is much higher among Palestinians than among any other Arab public recently polled.
One other group that gets high approval is another Iranian Arab alley, known as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). That group gets a 71% favorable rating in the West Bank — and a stunning 84% in Gaza.
