Support for Hamas has increased among Palestinians during the conflict, according to an opinion poll conducted by the EU-funded Palestinian Center for Policy and Research and the Ford Foundation cited by the Guardian. According to the poll, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas should resign and 60% of the 1,231 adults surveyed believe the Palestinian Authority should be disbanded, the highest level ever recorded by the research center. Marwan Barghouti, another member of Abbas's Fatah party who has been jailed since 2002 for involvement in violent riots, has proven more popular than Hamas-linked candidates. The survey was conducted during the ceasefire, with participants interviewed face-to-face in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The report, released last night, said: “Support for Hamas has more than tripled in the West Bank compared to three months ago. In the Gaza Strip, support for Hamas has increased, but not significantly. Despite the increase in their popularity, both have increased.” In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the majority do not support Hamas. It is worth noting that support for Hamas is usually increasing
“temporarily during or immediately after a war, only to return to previous levels a few months after the end of the war,” the report said.