Support among Palestinians for armed resistance, which Hamas represents, has often increased during times of war. And according to a Dec. 13 survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), the latest Gaza war is no exception. But despite the increased support for Hamas both in the West Bank and in Gaza, there is more significant opposition to the group and its strategy in Gaza than there is in the West Bank.
For example, according to the PCPSR poll, 37% in Gaza believe Hamas' decision to launch the Oct. 7 attack on Israel was "incorrect." Only 12% think the same in the West Bank. And while 75% of West Bank respondents prefer to see Hamas control Gaza after the war, only 38% of Palestinians in Gaza want that.
A Palestinian in Gaza who spoke by phone to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity and used to be a supporter of Hamas before Oct. 7 said, “They took us to hell; what a stupid decision,” referring to Hamas' decision to launch the Oct. 7 attack. "If you know that you cannot face such an aggressive response, why did we initiate the attack?”
His comments reflect the growing sentiment of the Palestinian residents in Gaza I spoke with — spanning varied partisan affiliations and social classes — who are becoming more convinced that Hamas miscalculated its Oct. 7 attack, bringing about a disaster and offering the right-wing extremist Israeli government the needed excuses to carry out what Gazans say it always wanted: an ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
