Big majority want Hamas to drop Israel wipe-out call

The survey by the Ramallah-based Near East Consulting institute also found that 84 percent of those surveyed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip want a peace agreement with Israel while 86 percent want the moderate Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas to remain in his post.

The militant Islamist movement Hamas, which has been behind the majority of anti-Israeli attacks during a five-year uprising, has come under growing pressure to drop its charter's call for the destruction of the Jewish state in the wake of its landslide victory last week over the secular Fatah party.

While Hamas's international reputation is based on its campaign of attacks against Israel, its popularity in the West Bank and Gaza stems in part from its providing a safety net for some of the most impoverished Palestinians.

Rather than indicate backing for Hamas's hardline tactics, the survey found that a total of 73 percent of respondents believe Hamas should "change its position on the elimination of the state of Israel".

Not only did an overall 84 percent support a peace agreement with Israel, but 77 percent of Hamas voters also wanted a settlement.

Israel has ruled out any prospect of negotiating with a Hamas government which refuses to accept its right to exist and continues to advocate violence, even though Hamas has not carried out any attacks for over a year.

A total of 1,200 people were questioned in the survey which has a 3.5 percent margin of error.

Source

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