Poll conducted among PA Arabs finds that most blame Hamas for Gaza fuel crisis. Abbas enjoying increased popularity.

A recent poll conducted among Palestinian Authority Arabs has found that a majority of residents of Hamas-controlled Gaza blame their leaders, not Israel, for the fuel crisis in the region.

The poll, which was conducted by Arab World for Research & Development (AWRAD), was released on Saturday.

When asked ‘Who do you blame the most for the fuel crisis in Gaza?’ 48.4 percent of respondents said Hamas and its government in Gaza were responsible for the crisis. 21.1 percent blamed Israel, which last week transferred diesel to Gaza, and 11.6 percent said the PA leadership under Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was responsible.

Participants were also asked who they think is playing the most positive role to resolve the crisis, and Abbas’ leadership received more than a quarter of the votes with 25.5 percent. Israel followed with 21.5 percent, and Hamas only received 19.9 percent of the vote.

Respondents were asked to evaluate the overall performance of PA leaders, and 43.3 percent said Abbas’ performance was positive. In contrast, Hamas’ prime minister in Gaza, Ismael Haniyeh, received 40.5 percent negative feedback and only 28.3 percent positive feedback.

59.1 percent of respondents said they approve of Abbas’ performance, while Haniyeh received a 53.3 percent disapproval rate.

At the same time, most respondents gave the PA government under Prime Minister Salam Fayyad a negative rating in fields such as improving economic conditions (33.2 percent), providing job opportunities (48.7 percent), improving the performance of the government institutions (32.2 percent) and achieving transparent financial accounting (41.8 percent).

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By Elad Benari