Poll shows Fatah would defeat Hamas in elections http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-01-16T183513Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-283834-1.xml&archived=False
Tue Jan 16, 2007
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction would defeat the governing Hamas group if parliamentary elections were held now, a survey published on Tuesday found.
The poll, conducted by the Ramallah-based independent Near East Consulting, also showed that a majority of the Palestinians want the Islamist group to soften its position towards Israel.
The survey showed the once-dominant Fatah faction winning 40 percent of a parliamentary vote and its rival Hamas 23 percent. Remaining voters said they would back other factions or refrain from casting ballots.
If presidential elections were held now in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, the moderate Abbas would win 38 percent of the vote compared with 18 percent for Hamas' Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, the poll showed. Abbas shocked Palestinians last month when he called for new parliamentary and presidential elections in a bid to break a deadlock with Hamas after inconclusive talks on a unity government.
Hamas was voted into power in January 2006, drawing Western sanctions over its refusal to recognise Israel, renounce violence and embrace existing interim peace deals. The sanctions have deepened economic hardship for many Palestinians.
Hamas leaders have rejected Abbas' call for early elections, calling it a coup attempt.
The poll found that 51 percent of the Palestinians believe Hamas must change its position regarding Israel while 39 percent say it should not.
Sixty-seven percent of respondents said they favoured a peace settlement with Israel, with 26 percent saying they objected to such an agreement. Near East Consulting surveyed 823 people and the poll has a 3.4 percent margin of error.
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