Palestinians overwhelmingly oppose Abbas pressure on Gaza
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s tough measures to force Hamas to cede control of the Gaza Strip are overwhelmingly opposed by Palestinians, according to a poll released Wednesday.
Since April, Abbas has cut funds for Israeli-supplied electricity to Gaza by 35 percent, reduced by one-third the salaries of tens of thousands of PA employees in Gaza, and reduced the medical budget for Gaza by a reported 90%. On Tuesday, he forced over 6,000 PA employees Gaza into early retirement.
A poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that 84% of Palestinians oppose cutting the electricity and 88% oppose reducing the salaries to government employees.
Abbas’s government has admitted these measures are aimed at forcing Hamas to give up control in Gaza, which it took over in a violent conflict with the PA-controlling Fatah party in 2007.
The poll found that 78% think the strategy will be ineffective in forcing Hamas to cede control. Only 13% said the measures will work.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinians-overwhelmingly-oppose-abbas-pressure-on-gaza/
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