PSR - Survey Research Unit: PSR Polls among Palestinian Refugees

Table No. (2)

 

RESUTLS OF SURVEYS AMONG PALESTINIAN REFUGEES IN THE WEST BANK/GAZA STRIP

according to place of residence

January – June 2003

 

Part (1)

Questions in  part (1) have been asked to all Palestinian refugees and non refugees in the sample

 

Total %

Refugees in Camps

Refugees in Cities & villages

1) There are many proposed solutions to the Palestinian question. One of  the solutions proposes the creation of a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, the withdrawal of Israel to the 1967 borders and the evacuation of settlements, but negotiations over the issue of the Palestinian  refugees’ right of return would be postponed for several years. Would you support or oppose this solution?

1) Support

52.7

51.9

53.2

2) Oppose

45.8

46.3

45.5

3) No opinion/Do not know

1.5

1.8

1.3

 

 

 

 

2) After the creation of the Palestinian state, the withdrawal of Israel and the evacuation of settlements, what do you think the Palestinian state should do with the already-built houses inside the settlements?

1) Destroy them

18.4

21.2

16.5

2) Sell them to the Palestinians who can afford to buy them

0.8

1.4

0.4

3) Give them to the refugees for free

25.4

26.6

24.7

4) Give them to the poor for free whether they are refugees or not

51.3

46.8

54.3

5) Give them only to the poor who are not refugees

1.7

1.7

1.6

6) No opinion/Do not know

2.4

2.3

2.6

 

 

 

 

3)  There is a second proposed solution to the Palestinian question, which is similar to the above solution, i.e. the creation of a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, the withdrawal of Israel to the 1967 borders and the evacuation of settlements, but negotiations over the issue of the Palestinian  refugees’ right of return would be postponed for several years.  However, it proposes the moving of the population of the refugee camps to new housing developments without waiving their right of return. Do you Support or oppose this proposal?

1) I Support

56.9

48.5

62.5

2) I oppose     

40.5

50.0

34.2

3) No opinion/Do not know

2.5

1.5

3.2

 

 

 

 

4) Suppose these housing projects and developments will be located in the evacuated settlements. Do you support or oppose this solution?

1) I Support

68.5

66.3

69.6

2) I oppose

28.1

30.8

26.8

3) No opinion/Do not know

3.5

2.9

3.8

 

 

 

 

5)  There is a third proposed solution to the Palestinian question, which is similar to the second one outlined on question # 3 above. But instead of moving the population of the refugee camps to new housing developments, the solution proposes the improvement and restoration of houses and facilities inside the camps. Would you Support or oppose this solution?

1) I Support

68.5

70.8

67.0

2) I oppose

29.8

28.3

30.8

3) No opinion/Do not know

1.7

0.9

2.2

 

 

 

 

6) There is talk about municipal council and local elections this year, do you Support or oppose the participation of refugee camps located inside Palestinian cities and towns  in the municipal elections of these cities and towns?

1) I Support

88.3

86.1

89.7

2) I oppose     

9.7

12.1

8.1

3) No opinion/Do not know

2.0

1.8

2.2

 

 

 

 

7) What about municipal council and local elections inside the camps that are not located inside Palestinian cities and towns? Do you Support or oppose local elections inside these camps?

1) I Support

75.5

75.4

75.5

2) I oppose

20.5

21.2

20.0

3) No opinion/Do not know

4.0

3.4

4.5

 

 

 

 

8) What about camps in the vicinity of cities and towns?

1) I support the expansion of municipal borders of cities and towns to include the neighbouring camps for the purpose of municipal elections.

55.0

48.9

59.1

2) I Support independent municipal elections for camps

33.6

38.5

30.3

3) I oppose the participation of camps in municipal elections

6.5

8.9

5.0

4) No opinion/Do not know

4.9

3.7

5.7

 

 

 

 

9) Are there any circumstances under which you may accept to live in peace, security and reconciliation with Israeli Jews?

1) Yes

20.3

19.7

20.6

2) No

79.1

79.3

79.0

3) No opinion/Do not know

0.7

1.0

0.4

 

 

 

 

10) After the settlement of the Palestinian question and the refugee problem, some people propose the immediate and simultaneous return of hundreds of thousands of refugees, even a million, from the Diaspora/outside the Palestinian state; whereas some believe that the absorption process should be gradual, and only tens of thousands of refugees should return to the Palestinian state gradually. What’s your opinion?

1) I prefer the simultaneous return of hundreds of thousands [of refugees]

35.3

36.0

34.9

2) I prefer the gradual return of tens of thousands [of refugees]

60.2

59.2

60.8

3) Other (specify __________)

3.2

3.4

3.1

4) No opinion/Do not know

1.3

1.4

1.1

 

 

 

 

11) After the creation of a Palestinian state and the settlement of the refugee problem, do you think that the West Bank and Gaza Strip can absorb the return of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of refugees from the Diaspora/outside, in addition to the refugee population they have now?

1) They can absorb the refugee population they have now in addition to a half million refugees from the Diaspora/outside.

18.6

16.5

20.0

2) They can absorb the refugee population they have now in addition to one million refugees from the Diaspora/outside.

15.5

14.3

16.3

3) They can absorb the refugee population they have now in addition to several millions of refugees from the Diaspora.

30.3

31.3

29.6

4) The West Bank and Gaza Strip cannot absorb any refugee from the Diaspora.

26.6

32.1

22.9

5) No opinion/Do not know

8.9

5.7

11.1

 

 

 

 

12) If a Palestinian state is created, do you expect that the socio-economic conditions will allow the absorption of these large numbers of refugees?

1) Yes 

42.0

44.3

40.6

2) No

51.0

49.3

52.1

3) No opinion/Do not know

6.9

6.4

7.3

 

 

 

 

13) After the creation of a Palestinian state and the settlement of the refugee problem, do you see any need for the continuation of the work done by UNRWA?    

1) Yes 

58.0

60.7

56.2

2) No

38.8

36.7

40.2

3) No opinion/Do not know

3.2

2.6

3.6

 

 

 

 

14) After the creation of a Palestinian state and the settlement of the refugee problem, some people propose the dismantlement of camps, others think that they should remain as they area now while others propose the expansion and improvement of camps so that they can accommodate the refugees who wish to stay in the Palestinian state.  What’s your opinion?

1) Dismantlement

11.6

10.1