Untitled Document

Latest Poll:

Poll No. 146
Date: 13 December, 2005

Dear Madam,
Dear Sir,

The target of this poll, which covers a big sample of (1873) persons living in the Palestinian territories, is to draw the attention of the world to the suffering of the Palestinian people at the economic level, the deterioration of their living conditions and the desperate need for an international support in order to establish an economic basis and provide a honorable life, in which the Palestinian people can live in peace and security as the other nations in the region do.

Please feel quite free to contact us immediately if you have any questions or inquiry on any issue of this poll.

With our good wishes and best regards,

Dr. Nabil Kukali
Director of PCPO
Website: www.pcpo.ps

With the opening of the International Conference in London under the auspices of the United Kingdom and Norway for the Reconstruction of Gaza Strip,

(73.4%) of the Palestinian people are at present worried about the livelihood of their families.

(53. 3 %) evaluated their economic condition as "bad".

(62.6%) are optimistic about the improvement of their economic condition after the upcoming national elections.

(60.1%) support to various degrees the continuation of the calm period with the Israelis.

Beit Sahour: Information Section

For the latest public opinion poll conducted by Dr. Nabil Kukali during the period October 15th to November 8th, 2005 and published by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO), a random sample of (1873) Palestinian adults over 18 years, representing all demographic specimen and strata in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip were face-to-face interviewed. The poll results revealed that (73.4%) of the Palestinian people are at present worried about the livelihood of their families. Dr. Nabil Kukali, the PCPO Director, said that the most important finding the poll has shown is that the Palestinian people are optimistic about the improvement of their economic conditions after the upcoming PLC elections. The rate of optimists was (62.6%), (64.1%) in Gaza Strip and (61.8%) in the West Bank. More than half of the Palestinian people, Dr. Kukali added, evaluated their economic condition as "bad"; (58.5%) are from Gaza and (50.2%) from the West Bank.

Creation of an economic basis
Further commented Dr. Kukali his findings saying that the solid basis for achieving peace is by rooting and spreading peace through the coming years, and that can only be achieved by creating, first and foremost, an economic basis. The provision of a normal life for the people and the improvement of their living and economic standard is a basic issue to end anarchy and lawlessness and to enhance stability, Dr. Kukali said. The absence of the comprehensive and just peace, and the security, will never lead to the economic prosperity in the region, Dr. Kukali said.

The Londoner International Conference
Dr. Kukali trusts that the International Conference held now in London under the auspices of the United Kingdom and Norway and the attendance of representatives of the Quadrarian Committee consisting of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, as well as deputies of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Canada, Japan, the Palestinian Authority, Saudi-Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia and Israel, will achieve its objective. This covers the reconstruction of Gaza Strip and Israel to make a commitment to the free movement of the Palestinians between Gaza Strip and the West Bank through daily caravans, to permit the entry of laborers to work inside Israel according to the signed agreements and to lift up the restrictions imposed on the Palestinians which badly affected their life. Add thereto the issue of the border crossing "Karni" between the Eastern Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the future of Gaza International Airport and the granting of financial support to the Palestinians.

Dr. Kukali is of the opinion that there is a desperate need for the assistance of the Palestinian people, because the poll findings reveal that the Palestinian Authority alone is not in the position neither to improve the quality of life for the Palestinians nor to create job opportunities for them. Therefore, Dr. Kukali commented, all the international efforts must work together in order to achieve the aspirations of the Palestinian people. The main concern of the Palestinian citizen at present, he said, is the safety and security, followed by the job and money, and thereafter the future and health.

The Calm and the Economy
The overwhelming majority of the respondents, specifically (60.1 %), support the renewal of the calm period with Israel, which will expire by the end of this current year, whilst (33.2%) are opposing the renewal and (6.7%) didn't decide yet, Dr. Kukali said. The renewal of the ceasefire, the halt of the lawlessness and the imposition of the law sovereignty on the ground will have a positive impact on the Palestinian economy and its growth, Dr. Kukali commented.

Effect of the Israeli withdrawal on the economy
Responding to the question: "Is there, you think, a substantial improvement to your life and the life of your family since the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza Strip on August 15th, 2005?", (6.8%) answered "yes, at a high rate", (34.5%) "yes, but to a certain degree", (32.9%) said "a slight improvement", (24.4%) said "no improvement at all", whilst only (1.4%) didn't make up their mind yet.

The Economic Conditions
A substantial majority (53.3%) of the Palestinian people evaluated the general economic condition in their territories as "bad ", whilst (39.5%) evaluated it as "middle" and only (6.0%) gave it the grading "good", whilst only (1.2%) declined to answer.

The Concern about the livelihood
Responding to the question: "Up to which extent are you worried now about the livelihood of your family?", (46.8%) answered "worried", (26.5%) are "too much worried", ( 19.3%) are "not worried to that extent", whilst (5.3%) said "not worried at all", and (2.1%) "I don't know".

Failure of the PA to create job opportunities
A great majority (64.4%) agreed to the statement that the PA is incapable of creating job opportunities to the workers, who were working in Israel. Only (26.1%) said it is capable, and (9.5%) refused to respond.

The Economic Program
Responding to the question: "Do you think that Mr. Mahmoud Abbas has an economic program to encounter the present crisis "?, (39.7%) affirmed that, and (48.6%) said "no", whilst (11.7%) answered "I don't know".

The Upcoming Legislative Council
A great majority (62.6%) of the respondents said they are optimistic that the upcoming legislative council will achieve economic accomplishments in the Palestinian territories in the near future, whilst (29.1%) said they are pessimistic, and (8.3%) declined to answer.

The Quality of Life
Regarding the question: "Do you think that the PA leadership is at present committed to its obligation to improve the quality of life for the Palestinians "?, (52.7%) said "no, not quite enough", (37.5%) said "yes, quite enough", whilst (9.8%) said "I don't know yet", or otherwise.

Also,(44.3%) of the Palestinian society is of the opinion that the Palestinian Authority is not qualified to improve the quality of life for the Palestinians in the near future, whilst (44.8%) say that it's qualified, and (10.9%) were reluctant to answer.

Joint Projects
Responding to the question:" Up to which extent do you agree or disagree to the following statement: "The mutual cooperation and the joint projects between all the nations in the region, including Israelis and Palestinians, in fields like water, health, environment, tourism and others must start as soon as possible even before reaching final peace agreements?", (22.3%) answered "strongly agree", (48.7%) "somewhat agree", (15.7%) "somewhat disagree", (10.2%) "strongly disagree" and (3.1%) answered "I don't know".

And with regard to the question: "In the light of the present situation and the background of not reaching yet an agreement about the lasting peace, do you support or object to an open market and joint economic projects between Israel and the Palestinians ?", (19.0%) answered "strongly support", (45.1%) "somewhat support", (21.7%) "somewhat oppose", (11.4%) "strongly oppose", and (2.8%) answered "I don't know".
The Concern of the Citizen

With respect to the question: "What is your main concern at present?, (23.0%) said "job / money", (39.8%) answered "the security", (15.0%) "the health", and (22.2%) said "the future".

Content with Life

To which degree are you content with your life in general ?” whereby it is said that (1) means “very discontent” and going ahead up to (10), which means “very content”. The arithmetic average of the degree of “content with life” was found at (5.67).

A general view on the poll

"All interviews took place on the basis of random choices of respondents' homes, i.e. face-to-face", Mr. Elias Kukali, a staff member of the Research & Studies Section at the PCPO, said. The choices were taken from a total of (236) sites. These sites are randomly chosen in accordance with PCPO's long experienced methodology. The sampling error throughout the survey is found at (±2.26%). Elias Kukali added "the percentage of female respondents was (47.7%) whereas that of the male respondents reached (52.6%). He said the composition of the sample according to the residential area was as follows: (64.2%) West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and (35.8%) Gaza Strip.

Mr. E. Kukali further pointed out that the allocation of the sample in respect of the type of residence was as follows: (47.6%) city, (35.1%) village and (17.3%) refugee camp. The average of the respondent's family members was (7.12) persons and the average age of the sample respondents (33.2) years. The distribution of the sample with regard to the marital status of the respondents was as follows: (30.6%) single, (64.5%) married and (4.8%) otherwise.