Palestinians overwhelmingly oppose Abbas pressure on Gaza [View all]
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s tough measures to force Hamas to cede control of the Gaza Strip are overwhelmingly opposed by Palestinians, according to a poll released Wednesday.
Since April, Abbas has cut funds for Israeli-supplied electricity to Gaza by 35 percent, reduced by one-third the salaries of tens of thousands of PA employees in Gaza, and reduced the medical budget for Gaza by a reported 90%. On Tuesday, he forced over 6,000 PA employees Gaza into early retirement.
A poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that 84% of Palestinians oppose cutting the electricity and 88% oppose reducing the salaries to government employees.
Abbas’s government has admitted these measures are aimed at forcing Hamas to give up control in Gaza, which it took over in a violent conflict with the PA-controlling Fatah party in 2007.
The poll found that 78% think the strategy will be ineffective in forcing Hamas to cede control. Only 13% said the measures will work.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinians-overwhelmingly-oppose-abbas-pressure-on-gaza/
= new reply since forum marked as read