A majority of Gazans now view Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack that instigated the war as wrong, according to a new poll released last week.
Fifty-nine percent of the 410 Gazans surveyed by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research said the attack was wrong, while 39% said it was the right move. The poll represents a continued decrease in support among Palestinians living in Gaza over time, and this was the first time a majority of respondents from the enclave said it was the wrong decision.
Three months ago, the research center found that 57% of Gaza residents approved of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel that left 1,200 people dead and about 250 others kidnapped. In March, the survey found that 71% of respondents approved of the decision.
The Oct. 7 terrorist attack garnered more support from Palestinians living in the West Bank, where the war is not going on, though there is violence between Palestinian terrorist groups and Israeli forces. Sixty-four percent of respondents from the West Bank in the poll released last week affirmed that the Oct. 7 attack was the correct decision.
Combining the responses from Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, 54% of respondents said carrying out the Oct. 7 attack was the correct choice.
The research group noted that the decrease in support for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, which it said Palestinians largely support due to the international attention the conflict has drawn, does not necessarily indicate a decrease in support for Hamas overall.
“It is important to note that support for this attack does not necessarily mean support for Hamas and does not mean support for any killings or atrocities committed against civilians,” the research group said. “Indeed, almost 90% of the public believes Hamas men did not commit the atrocities depicted in videos taken on that day. Support for the attack however seems to come from another motive: findings show that more than two thirds of the Palestinians believe that the attack has put the Palestinian issue at the center of attention and eliminated years of neglect at the regional and international levels.”
In the poll, 1,200 people were surveyed, 790 of them in the West Bank and 410 in Gaza, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 points.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The war has resulted in the deaths of roughly 40,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. The tally does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, though even Israeli officials have admitted that at least half of them were civilians. The war has resulted in the displacement of an overwhelming majority of Gazans. There are concerns of widespread disease and hunger throughout the strip.
The Oct. 7 terrorist attack is nearing its one-year anniversary in two weeks. Roughly 100 Israelis are still being held hostage by Hamas. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has objected to and thwarted a ceasefire agreement that would end the war, secure the release of hostages, and allow for desperately needed humanitarian aid to get into and distributed throughout Gaza.