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Young Palestinians losing interest in politics, poll shows

Palestinian protesters wave their national flag near the Israel-Gaza border. (AFP/File)
Palestinian protesters wave their national flag near the Israel-Gaza border. (AFP/File)
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18 Aug 2022 01:08:49 GMT9
18 Aug 2022 01:08:49 GMT9
  • Study by Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre finds young people are reluctant to join political parties

Mohammed Najib

RAMALLAH: Young Palestinians have the potential to play a vital role in politics but lack the opportunity to do so, according to the results of a recent poll.

The study, by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre, found that young people were reluctant to join political parties, despite more than 82 percent of respondents believing they had an important role to play.

More than 88 percent of people thought it was important for young people to become members of the central committees and politburos of political parties and factions, but almost 69 percent said there had been a significant decline in them doing so.

Almost 75 percent of respondents said they believed in the importance of holding legislative elections, while 79 percent said it was essential to hold presidential elections. Just over 70 percent of people said they would vote in such elections.

More than 34 percent of people said economic issues were their primary concern when evaluating the platforms of electoral lists or parties, followed by safety and security at 29 percent and fighting corruption at 14 percent.

The poll showed that 51 percent of respondents would support the PLO’s platform, 22 percent would support Hamas and 27 percent did not respond.

Almost 76 percent of people said it was essential to hold leadership elections for Palestinian political parties and factions.

Just over 32 percent of respondents said they would vote for the PLC elections candidate representing Fatah, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, while 13.5 percent would opt for Hamas, led by Ismail Haniyeh. More than 33 percent said they would not vote or were unsure whom to vote for.

In the study, 19 percent said they wanted Marwan Barghouthi to be the future president of the PLO, while the same percentage said they wanted him to be president of the PA, followed by Mohammed Dahlan with 4.3 percent, Hussein Al-Sheikh with 3.6 percent, Mohammed Shtayieh with 3.3 percent and Mohammed Aloul with 2.9 percent.

Just over 44 percent said that Abbas’ decision to appoint Hussein Al-Sheikh as PLO executive committee secretary was not good and 33 percent said they expected him to do a bad job.

A shade over 50 percent of the participants said the PA’s performance was good — down from over 68 percent who thought so in June 2020 — while 45 percent said it was terrible. A total of 58.5 percent said they believed the PA should be maintained, while 33 percent said it should be dissolved.

On the issue of the war in Ukraine, 65 percent of respondents said they were neutral, while 17 percent said they sympathized with Russia and 8 percent said they sympathized with Ukraine. Almost 65 percent of people said the Palestinian leadership should take a neutral stance on the conflict.

Just over 42 percent of respondents said they thought that US President Joe Biden’s visit to the region would not affect the interests of the Palestinian people, while 38 percent said it would be harmful and 13 percent thought it could be beneficial.

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