Ninety-three percent of Palestinians believe that Hamas did not commit atrocities during its mass invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, and 72% support the attack, according to recent polling conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR).
The survey of 1,580 Palestinians in Gaza, Judea and Samaria was conducted between March 5 and 10 via in-person interviews. The margin of error was 3%.
Notably, among Palestinians who watched videos of the atrocities filmed by the perpetrators themselves, 81% still did not believe atrocities were committed.
Only one in five Palestinians have seen such videos, according to the survey.
Twelve hundred people, mostly civilians, were killed, thousands more wounded and 253 kidnapped to Gaza during the Oct. 7 invasion. During the assault the terrorists committed acts of mass rape, necrophilia, beheadings, torture, mutilation, desecration of corpses and other atrocities.
Palestinian support for the Oct. 7 attack is virtually unchanged since the last poll was conducted three months ago, with 71% calling Hamas’s decision to launch it “correct.” The results do, however, show a difference between respondents in the Gaza Strip and in Judea and Samaria. In Gaza, support for the attack rose by 14 points since December, to 71%. In Judea and Samaria, support for the invasion dropped 11 points, also to 71%.
Surprisingly, Gazans’ support for Hamas continuing to rule the Gaza Strip has increased by 14 points to more than 50% since December, with nearly 60% believing that the terrorist group will remain in control of the territory.
“Given the magnitude of the suffering in the Gaza Strip, this seems to be the most counterintuitive finding of the entire poll,” according to the Ramallah-based institute.
“Nonetheless, it is consistent with the increase in the percentage of Gazans who think Hamas will win the current war. This is particularly interesting because the opposite happened in the West Bank, with the preference for Hamas staying in control dropping significantly while West Bankers’ expectations that Hamas will win dropped by 14 points.”
The poll also showed a significant increase in support for the so-called “two-state solution” in Gaza with a 27% rise, while support remained stable in Judea and Samaria.
There was also a 17-point decrease in support for “armed struggle” among respondents in both territories, as well as 5-point rises in support for negotiations and non-violence.