BICOM

A public Palestinian opinion poll published yesterday showed that a majority of Palestinians want current prime minister Salaam Fayyad to run the proposed Palestinian national unity government. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll showed that the public believed that if Fayyad remained in his position it would be good for international relations and diminish the chances of sanctions being imposed against Hamas.  Fayyad received 45% support in the poll while the Hamas proposed candidate, Jamal Khoudari, received only 22%. Fayyad, an internationally respected economist, was President Mahmoud Abbas’ choice to lead the proposed unity government to be set up with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and strongly opposes the appointment. As a result, the reconciliation process between Fatah and Hamas, which got underway in early May, is deadlocked; with a previously scheduled meeting for today in Cairo between the two factions canceled over the weekend.         

The poll also found that 61% of Palestinians want to follow PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ peace policies, while only 18% supported Hamas’s policies. The poll was conducted between 16-18 June and included 1,200 adults with a 3% margin of error.