JERUSALEM — Most Palestinians support the decision to renew peace talks with Israel and oppose armed struggle, but few expect the negotiations to lead anywhere, according to a poll published on Thursday.
The survey by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre (JMCC) found that 54.3 percent of Palestinians believe that the decision to relaunch talks on September 2 "serves the interests of the Palestinian people," with 34 percent saying it was harmful to them.
The same poll found that 59.4 percent of Palestinians oppose "military operations against Israeli targets," with 30.3 percent supporting them.
Pessimism about the peace process remains high, however, with 55.7 percent saying there will not be a "significant change in the status quo" as a result of the talks and 38.3 percent saying there would be.
The poll found that 43.8 percent of Palestinians would have voted for president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party if local elections had been held this year, compared to 13.5 percent who would have voted for the militant Hamas.
However, 26.4 percent said they would not have voted at all.
The poll surveyed 1,200 adults from across the occupied West Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on September 11-15, with a margin of error of three percent.
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