But among his own people, Abbas is reviled.
In the latest PCPSR poll, we learn:
Level of satisfaction with the performance of president Abbas stands at 26% and dissatisfaction at 71%. Level of satisfaction with Abbas stands at 26% in the West Bank and 26% in the Gaza Strip. (And this is an improvement over three months ago!)
A vast majority of 74% of the public want president Abbas to resign while only 23% want him to remain in office. Demand for Abbas’ resignation stands at 73% in the West Bank and 77% in the Gaza Strip.
If new presidential elections were held today and only two were nominated, Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh, only 46% would participate and from among those, Abbas would receive 38% and Haniyeh 53% of the votes.
The only theoretical candidate that excites people is Marwan Barghouti, the terrorist in Israeli prison convicted in five murders.
But Palestinians do support Abbas for one thing he did. An overwhelming majority agree with his use of the word "holocausts" to describe how Israel has treated Palestinians.
Meaning that they might hate everything else about him, but they approve his antisemitism.
