We Now Know How Much Support There Is Among Palestinians for Hamas' Oct. 7 Attack

Leah Barkoukis | November 20, 2023 9:30 AM

A recent poll by the Arab World for Research and Development reveals the alarming percentage of Palestinians who said they support the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel in which more than 1,400 Israelis were brutally murdered, thousands of others injured, and over 200 taken hostage.

The survey of 668 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between Oct. 31 and Nov. 7 found a majority, 75 percent, supported the Oct. 7 invasion, and 98 percent of respondents reported “feeling prouder of their identity as Palestinians now.”

Here is the Arab World for Research & Development (AWRAD) survey:

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• 98% stated that they will never forget and will never forgive what Israel did and is continuing to do during this war.
• 65% perceived the present war as a conflict targeting all Palestinians, while only 18% viewed it as a war between Israel and Hamas. Other respondents believed: it is a war between Israel and Muslims (5%); it is a war between Israel and Arabs (2%); or it is a conflict between the West and the Arab-Muslim world (10%).
• Reasons cited for the October 7 attacks included: responding to oppression, particularly attacks on Al Aqsa (35%), and addressing broader issues such as freeing Palestine, ending the occupation, and stopping settlements (33%). Breaking the blockade of Gaza was cited as the main reason by 21% of respondents.
• A small percentage (6%) reported that the main reasons behind the war are related to regional interests. This includes serving the interests of Iran (5%) and stopping the ongoing peace and normalization process with Israel (1%).
• As illustrated below, the majority of (59%) strongly supported or (16%) supported to some extent the October 7 attacks carried by the Hamas-led factions, while 16% supported to some extent. 11% reported that they neither supported nor opposed the attack, while 13% expressed opposition to the attacks. Strong support for the attacks was notably higher among Palestinians in the West Bank (68%) as compared to Gaza (47%). (AWRAD)