An-Najah Staff

 Background In view of deferring action on the report compiled by Richard Goldstone regarding war on the Gaza Strip, resubmitting it to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and endorsing it, the Palestinian scene witnessed different public and official reactions towards the PA’s handling of the report. The UN Human Rights Council Report was the main factor in escalating the war of words between the poles of the Palestinian political system.  Time again and after raising the expectations of the Palestinian public to an imminent national reconciliation agreement following several rounds of talks, a national reconciliation agreement has not been signed by some Palestinian factions including Hamas; most Palestinian factions who are members of the PLO, signed it On another scale, some Palestinian resources revealed President Mahmoud Abbas’s intention to issue a presidential decree in which he will assign a date for Palestinian Presidential and Legislative elections as it is a constitutional demand whether a reconciliation is achieved or not.
The Results  Following are the results of the Palestinian Public Opinion Poll no. 39 conducted by the Center for Opinion Polls and Survey Studies at An-Najah National University during the period from 22-24 October 2009. The University sponsors all polls conducted by its Center. Palestinian Public Opinion Poll no. 39 undertakes the national reconciliation, the Goldstone Report to the UN Human Rights Council, the performance of the governments of Salam Fayyad and Ismail Haniyeh  in addition to political affiliations and other issues.  The sample included 1360 persons whose age group is 18 and above and who have the right to vote. The enclosed questionnaire was distributed on 860 persons from the West Bank and 500 persons from the Gaza Strip. The sample was drawn randomly and the margin of error is about ±3%; still 3.7% of the members of the sample refused to answer the questionnaire.