A poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found 44% of respondents in the occupied West Bank said they supported Hamas, up from just 12% in September. In Gaza, Hamas enjoyed 42% support, up from 38% three months ago. 

That's still a minority in both territories. But even many Palestinians who do not share Hamas' policies see it as resisting Israel's decades-old occupation of lands they want for a future state. 

The poll meanwhile showed overwhelming rejection of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, with nearly 90% saying he must resign. The 88-year-old leader's administration is widely seen by Palestinians as a corrupt and autocratic accomplice to the occupation because it works with Israel to suppress Hamas and other groups, according to AP.

The U.S. wants Abbas’ internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to also govern Gaza. Hamas seized Gaza from the PA in 2007. The U.S. also wants to revive the long-defunct peace process to negotiate the creation of a Palestinian state. 

Netanyahu’s government is firmly opposed to Palestinian statehood and has said it will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza. 

Late Wednesday, Hamas’ supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said any plans for Gaza that do not involve Hamas are an “illusion and mirage,” though he said the group is open to halting the fighting. Haniyeh lives in Qatar, but it was not clear where he was when he made those comments. 

Israelis remain strongly supportive of the war and see it as necessary to prevent a repeat of Oct. 7 operation.

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