Palestinian Pulse

In poll results distributed by email this week, the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) finds that an overwhelming majority of Palestinians supports the current "calm" with Israel.

According to the PCPO, 76.5 percent of those polled "Support at different degrees the continuation of the calm with the Israelis." (That is, more than 28 percent "strongly support" it, while 48 percent "somewhat support" it.) The polls also found that 73.5 percent of Palestinians "Support in different degrees the call of Abu Mazin upon Hamas to abandon the violence" against Israel.

According to the PCPO, 37.2 percent of those polled said that if parliamentary elections were held that day, they would vote for Fatah candidates, while 25 percent said they would support Hamas. The Palestinian electorate is splintered among a dozen political groups.

Polling took place June 6-11, and included "965 Palestinian adults over 18 years . . . representing the various demographic models of the Palestinian society in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip." Women made up 47.1 percent of the respondents. The margin of error was 3.18 percent.