Poll: Overwhelming Majority of Palestinians Favor More Terrorist Groups

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM – Seventy-two percent of Palestinians support the creation of additional armed groups in Yehuda and Shomron like the Lion’s Den terror group that surfaced for the first time earlier this year, according to a new poll.

Lion’s Den claimed responsibility for the majority of shooting attacks in the Shechem area since the summer, when it came into existence, an amalgam of terrorists previously affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, among others.

The IDF has been conducting an antiterror campaign, started in response to a series of deadly attacks on Israelis early this year. 27 Israeli civilians and foreigners have been killed, while the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry has reported 167 Palestinian deaths as a result of Israeli gunfire in the region this year, versus an IDF count of 151.

The poll found that support for more terrorism was higher in Gaza, where 84% of respondents were in favor, compared to 65% of Palestinians in Yehuda and Shomron.

However, 59% of respondents said they feared that the establishment of such groups could lead to conflict with Palestinian Authority security forces, and 22% of all the respondents said they were flatly opposed to the formation of such armed groups.

The survey was conducted by prominent Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki and his Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR).

In addition, 61% said they expected the next Israeli government to be more extreme than the outgoing one, while 30% think its policies will be similar. Fifty-eight percent said they expected the next government to change the status quo at Har Habayis by allowing Jews to pray there. Both Jews and Muslims are currently allowed to visit but only Muslims are allowed to pray openly.