Further debunking the notion that Hamas alone is the problem and that it is an unsupported fringe movement, a Palestinian public opinion poll published on Wednesday again revealed that most Palestinians remain pleased with the October 7, 2023 terrorist invasion of southern Israel.

Despite the death and destruction visited upon Gaza as a consequence of Hamas’s actions, 71 percent of Palestinians surveyed said it was “correct” for Hamas to have massacred over 1,200 Israeli men, women and children, and taken another 253 hostage on the final day of Sukkot last year.

The poll was conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) among a representative sampling of Palestinian Arabs in both Gaza and the so-called “West Bank” (Judea and Samaria).

But support for Oct 7 does not decrease: 71% consider it correct: https://t.co/DEnumFMAWt https://t.co/om0VjuNQy2 pic.twitter.com/FRhw4vxZjj

— Khalil Shikaki (@KShikaki) March 20, 2024

A shockingly-low 5 percent of Palestinians said Hamas committed atrocities, or war crimes, in its onslaught on southern Israel.

Even among those Palestinians who have watched video evidence of what Hamas terrorists did to Israelis on Oct. 7, 81 percent still do not believe any atrocities were committed. It is unclear from the results if the Palestinians believe the video evidence to be fake, or if they do not consider the rape, torture, mutilation and burning alive of Israelis to be especially egregious. It should be remembered that the Middle East is a very different region with very different sensibilities to most of the West. What might be considered an atrocity in the West might be a rather common occurrence in the Middle East, and thus not particularly troubling.

Hamas’s political future

Israel insists that Hamas cannot continue to govern in the Gaza Strip, or anywhere else. Not if there is to ever be a chance for genuine peace. Initially, the United States and other Western governments supported this position, but have of late been pushing for a ceasefire that would ultimately leave Hamas in charge.

And that’s what the Palestinians themselves want.

Support for Hamas hovers around 35 percent in both Gaza and the “West Bank.” Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party enjoys just 26 percent support in Gaza and a record-low 12 percent in the “West Bank.” In other words, if and when Palestinian elections are held, Hamas will come out on top.

In the new survey, 52 percent of respondents in Gaza said they want Hamas to rule the territory in the future. In Judea and Samaria, 64 percent of Palestinians think Hamas should continue to govern Gaza, if not the entirety of the Palestinian-controlled territories.

Just 21 percent of Gazans want to see Abbas and his regime take control of Gaza.