By Al-Fassel and AFP | 2023-11-28

Many Gaza residents were hostile to Hamas ahead of the group's October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, with some describing its rule as a second occupation, according to polling data.

The findings are striking, given that the relationship between Hamas and ordinary residents of Gaza is often the subject of heated debate.

"We find in our surveys that 67% of Palestinians in Gaza had little or no trust in Hamas in that period right before the attacks," said US-Palestinian researcher Amaney Jamal, dean of Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs.

"This is especially important because of the (erroneous) argument that all of Gaza supports Hamas, and therefore all of Gaza should be held accountable for the actions, atrocious actions of Hamas."

Hamas, which won elections in the Palestinian territories in 2006, is considered a terrorist group by a growing number of countries.

Gaza residents are paying a heavy price for Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel, with the reprisals triggering massive displacement, endangering civilians and depriving the enclave of food, water and fuel.

Jamal is one of the driving forces behind the Arab Barometer, which conducts surveys and polling in the region, including in Gaza, where fieldwork concluded on the eve of the attacks on Israel.

She said that before October 7, Hamas was seen as "corrupt" and "authoritarian" by many respondents.

In the previous 30 days, Jamal said, 75% said they could not afford to feed their households. "So again, this is an impoverished society, a society that is basically saying the Hamas-led government has some levels of corruption."

Who do you blame?

Hamas has attempted to manipulate financial platforms and garner support via a coordinated propaganda campaign since the start of the current conflict, using cryptocurrency exchange platforms to receive funds.

It has faced sanctions and increased scrutiny for these actions, with the United States and Britain attempting to cut off its revenue streams, including from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Iranian support to Hamas is primarily supplied "through the transfer of funds and the provision of both weapons and operational training," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a November 14 statement.

"When we ask people, who do you blame?... we thought that the number-one culprit was going to be Israel because of the blockade," Jamal said. "But most people cited Hamas corruption, more so than they cited the Israel blockade."

US-born Jamal, who was brought up in Ramallah, said there also was a perception that "the Palestinian Authority or the Hamas-led government across time have become more dictatorial -- and more authoritarian."

The latest Arab Barometer was undertaken in Gaza, where 399 people were surveyed, and the West Bank, where 790 were polled, from the end of September to October 6.

Its findings were published in the journal Foreign Affairs.

Fear of retaliation

"About 60% said that they believed they could not express their opinions freely and openly at the eve of the attacks (and) about 72% said that they could not protest peacefully against the Hamas-led government," Jamal said.

"There was fear of retaliation or retribution from the government."

Despite the majority negative view of Hamas uncovered by Jamal's research, the report cautioned that amid the Israel-Hamas war, perceptions may have changed.

Ahead of the attacks on Israel, more than half of respondents favored a two-state solution. The remainder opted either for a Palestinian-Israeli confederation or a one-state solution.

Many Gaza residents were "open to a peaceful reconciliation with Israel based on 1967 borders," Jamal said.