Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine), 22.03
After more than five months of bombardment, there is some regression in the political consciousness in Gaza but not in the West Bank.
“A poll, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), was conducted between March 5 and 10 in the West Bank and areas of the Gaza Strip where there was “no ongoing daily fighting. The data showed a clear drop-in support for armed resistance as the best means of achieving a Palestinian State from its peak in December. Gazan support for a two-state-solution doubled since December from 35% to 62%.
The PCPSR conducted previous surveys in September and December 2023, during which Gazans’ change in support for a two-state solution was minimal, 34% to 35%, respectively. Compared to Gaza, support for a two-state solution in the West Bank barely grew, from 30% in September 2023 to 33% by December and 34% by March.
In December, support for armed resistance across the Palestinian Territories was 63%, 68% in the West Bank and 56% in the Gaza Strip. The latest polling showed support for armed resistance at 46% across the Palestinian Territories, 51% in the West Bank, and 39% in the Gaza Strip. In the Gaza Strip, support increased mostly for peaceful popular resistance from 19% in December 2023 to 27% in March 2024. Support for negotiations was 23%.
Support for negotiations, peaceful popular resistance, and armed resistance (32%, 24%, and 35%, respectively) shifted from a relatively even split in September 2022 to a peak of support for armed resistance (68%) in December 2023. Although, by March 2024, support for armed resistance had fallen to 51%, support for other solutions remained lopsided, with support for peaceful resistance only 12% and negotiations 27%” [i]
That there is some regression of the political consciousness in Gaza is not surprising. The morale under such horrible conditions explains it. This is the same reason that brought Napoleon and Stalin to power. What is surprising is how little is the regression under these conditions. The Zionist genocide has not destroyed the willpower of the Palestinians and their heroic struggle.
Endnotes:
[i] https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/2024-03-21/live-updates-792997