Myth: Hamas doesn't represent the Palestinian people

(With thanks for this data from IDSF) 

Figures show that an extremely significant portion of the Palestinian populace favors the Hamas terror organization and would even elect it in a landslide if Palestinian elections were held today, both in the Judea and Samaria area and in the Gaza Strip. Support in the social media, in the Palestinian street, and even in student elections at the Palestinian universities in Judea and Samaria — ostensibly the academic and intellectual stronghold of the social elite — along with immense outdoor demonstrations of support in Gaza and Ramallah, empirical figures, and qualitative analyses of Palestinian public opinion, leave little room for doubt: support for Hamas among everyday Palestinians is significant, and that painful truth must be faced.

The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), based in Ramallah and headed by Dr. Khalil Shkaki, finds Palestinian support for Hamas steady and consistent both in the Judea and Samaria area (“West Bank”) and in the Gaza Strip. In a survey held between September 6 and 9, 2023 — a mere month before the October 7 massacre – 44% of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip replied that they support Hamas, along with 24% of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. 

The IDSF Research Department examined the results of Dr. Shkaki’s public-opinion polls covering the past five years, rather than merely the results of a single survey, and found a consistent, stable trend of decisive support for Hamas, with a landslide for any Hamas candidate against any other candidate if Palestinian elections were to be held. In almost every public opinion poll, Hamas won against Fatah on the question of “Who would be suitable as the true representative of the Palestinian people?” From May 2018 to September 2023, Hamas maintained its strength at 42.75% support among Palestinians in Gaza as against 30.6% support for Fatah.