We are going through a difficult time here. The October 7 massacre is still fresh in our mind, and it is relived every single day by the relatives and friends of the hostages held in captivity by the Hamas terror regime.
Some respond in anger and fury, which is understandable in light of the indescribable atrocities done by Hamas and their supporters. But even die-hard Israeli peace activists start loosing their faith in light of the tremendous popularity of Hamas amongst Palestinians. According to a recent Palestinian survey, following months of devastating war in Gaza more than 50% of the Palestinians in Gaza support Hamas and their regime. Here a quote from the latest PSR survey:
When asked about their own preference, Gazans’ support for continued Hamas control over the Gaza Strip has increased to more than 50%, a 14-point rise.
Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) – Public Opinion Poll No (91), 5-10 March 2024
The survey – directly and indirectly – shares some light on who the Palestinians think are the perpetrators and who are the victims:
As we have found in the previous poll, almost all Palestinians think Israel is committing war crimes while almost all believe Hamas is not committing war crimes in the current war. Moreover, more than 90% believe that Hamas did not commit any atrocities against Israel civilians during its October the 7th offensive. Only one in five Palestinians has seen videos showing atrocities committed by Hamas. Only one fifth of those who did not see the videos had access to such videos but decided not to see them; the rest report that the media they watched did not show these videos. The findings show that those who have seen the videos are almost 10 times more likely to think that Hamas men have committed atrocities on October 7. …
The vast majority is satisfied with the South African efforts to take Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing it of genocide.
Public Opinion Poll No (91) – Summary of the Main Findings
I hope governments around the world and the UN in particular take this survey to heart to devise strategies on how to educate the Palestinians. Actually, some UN leaders are in dire need of education, too.
The war could be over today if the Palestinians got rid of Hamas, or if Hamas were to surrender. Probably most Israelis would be content with the release of the hostages and the disarmament of Hamas, or something that would prevent the terror regime to regain control. Even the Netanyahu government would have difficulties not to accept the release of all hostages versus ceasefire or something to that end.
You have all seen the endless footage of destruction in the Gaza strip, and the misery of the Palestinians in Gaza that yet have to understand that they (could) control their fate. Below I like to share the beautiful people who come every Saturday evening to support the victims of Hamas – the families and friends of Israeli hostages held in captivity in Gaza.
