According to a poll released on 14 March by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), support for armed resistance against the Israeli occupation in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip is on the rise.

The poll is based on interviews carried out with 1,200 adults in random areas across the West Bank and Gaza between 8 March and 11 March. It also reflects an increased distrust in the Palestinian Authority (PA), as well as a significant reduction in support for a two-state solution.

The poll states that 58 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza support “armed confrontation and intifada,” up from 55 percent in June 2022. It adds that 52 percent are in favor of a dissolution of the PA, up from 49 percent.

Additionally, the poll shows that from June 2022 until March 2023, support for a two-state solution went down from 32 percent to 27 percent.

It goes on to say that 74 percent of Palestinians “believe the two-state solution is no longer practical or feasible due to the expansion of Israeli settlements,” up from 69 percent in just three months.

71 percent of Palestinians also said that they were in favor of the shooting of the two settlers in Huwara last month, according to the poll.

Moreover, the poll records that 58 percent of Palestinians believe that the resistance factions will continue to expand across the West Bank, and 83 percent “are against the surrender of the armed groups’ members and their arms to the PA,” which the PA claims is to prevent Israeli forces from assassinating them.

There was also a significant increase between 2022 and 2023 in Palestinians who believe that the Israeli occupation is the most pressing problem for them.

This poll signifies the growing consensus among Palestinians to adopt armed struggle and resistance as their only option to alleviate the hardships of living under occupation, particularly in light of the escalatory policies of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the unprecedented surge in Israeli brutality and oppression.