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How supportive are the people of the Gaza Strip of Hamas? Can the terrorist organization actually count on the broad support of the Palestinian population? At least that is what the leaders of Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, Hamas’s self-styled Islamic resistance movement, like to claim. However, new data cast doubt on this self-image.

Since the bloody terrorist attacks on Israeli forces and civilians over the weekend of October 7, in which more than 1,400 Israelis were killed and more than 200 others kidnapped, the Islamist terrorist organization has once again become the focus of global attention. Since its founding in the second half of the 1980s, but at least since its electoral victory in the Palestinian territories in 2006, it has seen itself as the voice of the two million people living in the Gaza Strip.

In the past, senior Israeli politicians have sometimes given the impression that the residents of the Gaza Strip have the same cause as the Hamas extremists and should therefore be seen as part of the terrorist infrastructure. However, according to a survey by the Arab Barometer, an opinion research institute focusing on the Arab region, the Palestinians themselves are by no means united behind Hamas.

Depressing economic situation in the Gaza Strip

According to figures from the institute, almost two-thirds of Palestinians (67 percent) have little or no trust in Hamas representatives. The vast majority are dissatisfied with the way Hamas governs the Gaza Strip and first blame its leadership for the poor living conditions in the area – only then the Israeli blockade. 72 percent of Palestinians also criticize corruption within Hamas institutions.

The living situation of the people in the Gaza Strip seems depressing anyway. 75 of the residents said in the survey that they had run out of food in the past month and had no money to buy more. 69 percent of respondents also said they were already rationing their meals in order to eat.

According to the Arab Barometer, if the people of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank had the choice, they would not choose Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyye as head of government, but rather Marwan Barghouthi, a Fatah politician currently imprisoned in Israel . Haniyye, who has been directing terrorist affairs in the Gaza Strip from the safe oil emirate of Qatar for years, will probably not like this. After all, the more moderate Fatah party is considered Hamas’s archenemy and has fought alongside it. for decades for power and influence in the Palestinian territories.

According to the Palestinian authorities, there are already more than 7,000 victims

Hamas, founded in the 1980s as a political counterbalance to Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has de facto ruled the Gaza Strip since 2006. However, the successor to the Fatah organization under President Mahmoud Abbas rules the West Bank. After the devastating attacks on October 7, he initially distanced himself from Hamas. Their actions “do not represent the will of the Palestinian people,” the 87-year-old politician said. However, the statement was later removed from official government websites.

Dissatisfaction with the actions of the Israeli government is currently growing, both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In response to the terrorist attacks, Hamas has threatened to destroy Hamas and has been carrying out retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strip almost every day for weeks. According to Palestinian authorities, 7,000 people have been killed so far, including more than 2,000 children.

Dissatisfaction with Israel is therefore growing in the region. This should also benefit Hamas. Furthermore, the Arab Barometer surveys were conducted between late September and early October, so the Hamas terrorist attacks and Israel’s response could not be included in the vote.