Most Palestinians 'back armed resistance' as Israeli occupation intensifies

An overwhelming majority of Palestinians now support armed resistance against Israeli occupation in the West Bank,  according to a new Palestinian poll published last week, as Israel's lurch to the far right rains down deadly violence on the occupied Palestinian territories almost on a daily basis and Tel Aviv abandons any pretense of accepting the two-state solution.

According to the poll of 1270 adults interviewed face to face in 127 randomly selected locations by the independent think-tank Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Search, 71% of Palestinians support groups such as the Nablus-based ‘Lions’ Den’ and the ‘Jenin Brigade’.

The poll also showed that 86% opposed the Palestinian Authority’s arrest of armed group members, while 58% expected such groups to multiply and spread in the West Bank.

Israel and its allies led by the United States classify all forms of Palestinian violence as terrorism. But Palestinians and their ally regard attacks on Israeli military targets as a legitimate form of resistance under international law, while they are divided on violence targeting Israeli civilians.

Dwindling hopes

On internal Palestinian politics, the poll indicated that 69% want general Palestinian presidential and legislative elections, although 67% said don’t believe that they would happen.

On political preferences, according to the poll, 33% of Palestinians would vote for current Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, while 56% would vote for the head of Hamas’s politburo, Ismail Haniyeh. However, Haniyeh would receive 38% of votes if he were to run against the Israeli-jailed Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouthi,, who would receive 58% of votes.

When asked about the most pressing problem confronting the Palestinians today, the largest percentage (38%) said it is the Israeli occupation, while 22% said it is corruption, 18% said it is unemployment; 13% said it is the split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 5% said it is the internal violence, and 1% said it is the inadequate infrastructure. West Bankers and Gazans agree that the Israeli occupation is the most pressing problem, but differ in their assessment of the rest of the problems, according to the poll.

Local armed resistance groups have emerged in the northern West Bank since 2021, following the Gilboa prison break, as Israeli raids into Palestinian towns and cities escalated.

In the same period, Palestinian general elections were scheduled for May 2021 after 15 years without elections. The Palestinian president called off the elections one month prior.

Two months after the suspension of elections, Palestinian outspoken dissident Nizar Banat died while in the custody of  Palestinian security forces, sparking a wave of protests against the PA in the West Bank.

In September of the same year, six Palestinian prisoners escaped from the Israeli high-security prison of Gilboa, triggering Palestinian protests in solidarity with the escapees. Israeli forces recaptured the escapees in the two weeks following the prison break, and began to escalate raids into Palestinian towns and cities.

In 2022, Israeli forces killed 230 Palestinians, mostly in raids on towns and cities. The UNsaid it was the deadliest year for Palestinians since 2005.

Since the beginning of 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 167 Palestinians, mostly in military raids, more than triple the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during the same period of last year.