Hamas popularity falls among Palestinians - poll

[oberliner]

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Discontent with Hamas over slow-moving Palestinian unity talks and Israel's ban on Gaza reconstruction aid have led to a sharp decline in the Islamist group's popularity, an opinion poll showed on Monday.

The survey by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre (JMCC) put public support for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip at 18.8 percent compared with 27.7 percent in its previous poll in January.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction is now more popular than Hamas with a 34.9 percent rating, up from 26 percent in January, according to the poll of 1,199 people.

Khader Khader, head of the media unit at the East Jerusalem-based JMCC, said Hamas's popularity was hit by discontent in the Gaza Strip, where the group rules, over a lack of movement in Egyptian-sponsored unity talks with Fatah and in reopening the territory's borders.

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-40670320090629

[billyoc]

1. I hope the people of the Middle East will wake up to the danger of these right wing parties

like Hamas and Likud.

[LeftishBrit]

5. Quite a few have...

one problem is that RW parties reinforce each other, even when (or perhaps especially when) they are enemies. Nothing like fear of the enemy to rally people round RW leaders! Hamas certainly helped the Israeli Right get in; and the Israeli Right helped to bolster the popularity of Hamas for a while - though it's now gone down again.

[RDANGELO]

2. Can you be a terrorist organization and a government at the same

time. I always thought the answer would be no. The goals are contradictory.

[LeftishBrit]

3. Not unexpected really; they're a crap government and it's become quite obvious

I hope that the Palestinians can find a much better alternative.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

4. Sounds promising.