Palestinian Attitudes Toward the Taba Agreement (October 1995)

After signing the Interim Phase Agreement in Washington last week, how optimistic are you about the future in general? Would you say you are very optimistic, somehow optimistic, pessimistic, or very pessimistic?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Very optimistic	25.5%	25.8%	24.9%
Somehow optimistic	48.4%	48.2%	49.4%
Pessimistic	14.7%	15.5%	12.7%
Very Pessimistic	7.5%	6.5%	10.1%
No opinion	3.9%	4.0%	2.9%

Upon the Palestinian Authority's assumption of responsibility in the West Bank, would you say that your feeling of security, in general, would be better, worse, or would you say that your feeling of security will not change?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Better	62.3%	66.8%	50.9%
Worse	11.2%	11.0%	11.8%
Will not change	21.2%	17.2%	32.1%
Other	1.3%	1.3%	1.2%
No opinion	4.0%	3.7%	4.0%

To what extent would you say that the Taba Agreement is a step toward the realization of the aspiration of the Palestinian people in establishing their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
A step towards the full realization of Palestinian aspirations	14.7%	15.1%	13.6%
A step towards the realization of some of the Palestinian aspirations	54.6%	53.9%	56.9%
This agreement strengthens the occupation	19.1%	19.1%	19.1%
No opinion	11.6%	11.9%	10.4%

To what extent would you say you support or oppose the agreement reached between the PA and Israel over the Interim Phase? Would you say you strongly support, you cautiously support it, or would you say you totally oppose it?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Strongly support	23.7%	24.7%	21.4%
Cautiously support	41.9%	42.7%	40.2%
Totally oppose	16.4%	16.1%	17.1%
I don't know the provisions of the agreement	12.9%	11.7%	16.2%
No opinion	5.1%	4.8%	5.1%

How do you evaluate the performance of the PNA after one year of its work? Would you say its performance is good, fair, or poor?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Good	37.1%	35.0%	43.1%
Fair	38.0%	39.6%	34.1%
Poor	15.0%	14.3%	16.5%
Other	1.5%	1.6%	1.2%
No opinion	8.4%	9.5%	5.1%

Do you think that president Arafat is carrying out his work as the head of the PNA in a good, average, or bad way?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Good	51.4%	49.9%	55.8%
Average	25.9%	26.8%	23.7%
Bad	11.8%	13.2%	8.4%
No opinion	10.9%	10.1%	12.1%

After the passage of a year since the return of president Arafat and his assumption of the leadership of the PNA, has your support increased, decreased, not changed, or did you never support him?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
My support increased	32.0%	31.1%	34.7%
My support declined	10.4%	12.5%	4.9%
My support did not change	33.2%	34.3%	30.3%
I never supported him	16.8%	16.0%	18.8%
No opinion	7.6%	6.1%	11.3%

Within the present political circumstances, do you believe that the Palestinian delegation would have been able to reach a better agreement than the one reached last week?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Yes	32.2%	36.6%	20.8%
No	43.0%	39.3%	53.2%
I do not know	13.7%	14.1%	12.7%
I am not interested in any agreement	4.5%	3.8%	6.6%
No opinion	6.6%	6.2%	6.7%

How do you evaluate the performance of the Palestinian delegation during the Taba negotiations?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Good	35.7%	35.8%	35.5%
Fair	34.6%	36.1%	30.9%
Poor	13.3%	12.6%	15.0%
No opinion	16.4%	15.5%	18.6%

To what extent would you say you know about the agreement?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
I know about the agreement	11.0%	12.3%	7.5%
I know something about the agreement	54.9%	53.3%	59.2%
I do not know the agreement	26.2%	28.3%	20.8%
No opinion	7.9%	6.1%	12.5%

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the removal of Israeli settlements?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Optimistic	43.0%	40.0%	51.4%
Pessimistic	45.6%	49.2%	36.4%
I do not know	7.5%	7.7%	6.9%
No opinion	3.9%	3.1%	5.3%

In general, would you say you support or oppose the peace process?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Support the peace process	72.7%	73.7%	70.8%
Oppose the peace process	17.8%	17.2%	19.7%
No opinion	9.5%	9.1%	9.5%

If you are opponent to the peace process, would you say the opposition is practical in its program, not practical in its program, or would you say that the opponent follows an unclear path? (This question was asked only to those who say they oppose the peace proces in Q.12).

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Practical	33.9%	24.5%	55.9%
Not practical	15.4%	18.2%	8.8%
Path unclear	34.4%	42.1%	16.2%
No opinion	16.3%	15.1%	19.1%

Is Rabin sincere about implementing the agreements he signed with the Palestinians?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Yes	27.2%	25.9%	30.9%
No	54.8%	56.0%	51.7%
No opinion	18.0%	18.1%	17.4%

If the labour falls and Likud takes over the Israeli government in the coming elections, do you think the general Palestinian political situation will:

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Improve	7.6%	7.6%	7.8%
Worsen	42.2%	44.1%	37.0%
Remain the same	36.1%	34.6%	4.2%
No opinion	14.1%	13.7%	15.0%

Which is the most political or religious faction you trust most?

First Choice

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Fateh	41.3%	41.7%	40.5%
Hamas	10.7%	8.8%	15.6%
PFLP	3.6%	3.9%	2.9%
DFLP	0.5%	0.6%	0.3%
Islamic Jihad	2.4%	1.7%	4.0%
PPP	1.0%	1.0%	1.2%
FIDA	0.5%	0.5%	0.6%
Palestinian Struggle Front	0.1%	--	--
Islamic religion	0.9%	1.3%	--
Democracy building movements	0.1%	--	0.3%
Do not trust anyone	20.9%	22.9%	15.9%
PLO	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%
No answer	17.5%	17.2%	17.8%

Which Palestinian figure do you trust most?

First Choice

	Total
Yasser Arafat	36.8%
Nayef Hawatmeh	0.3%
Haider Abdul Shafi	4.6%
Abu Ala' - Ahmed Qrieh	0.9%
Jibriil Al-Rajoub	0.4%
Yasser Abed Rabbo	0.9%
Suleiman Najjab	0.2%
Bassam Jarrar	--
Mahmoud Zahhar	0.2%
Ahmed Yassin	5.5%
Hanan Ashrawi	2.4%
Fathi Shakaki	0.5%
Sa'eb Erikat	0.5%
Nabil Sha'ath	0.9%
Al-Rantisi	0.3%
Bashir Bargouthi	0.1%
Yihia A'yash	0.2%
Farouq Qaddoumi	1.9%
Amin Maraka	0.1%
Abu Mazen - Mahmoud Abbass	0.5%
Faisal Husseini	2.1%
George Habash	3.4%
Ahmed Tibi	0.3%
Abbas Zaki	0.5%
I do not trust anyone	16.1%
Others	2.7%
No opinion	17.7%

Do you think Israel has the right to exist?

	Total	West Bank	Gaza Strip
Yes	26.4%	26.3%	26.9%
No	65.2%	66.1%	63.0%
No opinion	8.3%	7.6%	10.1%

Sources: JMCC - Jerusalem Media & Communications Centre