67% OF ARAB WORLD SAYS HAMAS’ OCT 7 ATTACK WAS LEGITIMATE, POLL SHOWS

Tue 16 January 2024:

A new opinion poll published earlier this week showed that 67 per cent of the Arab world said that Hamas’ attack against Israel on Oct 7 was legitimate. According to a report by The Jerusalem Post on Saturday (Jan 13), the poll was carried out by the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies on Wednesday. The poll collected data from 8,000 Arab respondents from 16 countries.

Sixty-seven per cent of the respondents perceived the Oct 7 attack as a legitimate resistance operation. The poll results clarified that 19 per cent of the respondents answered the attack was legitimate but “flawed,” three per cent said it was legitimate but “involved heinous or criminal acts” and only five per cent called the attack “illegitimate.”

Respondents’ opinions on why Hamas launched the attack

On being asked why Hamas launched the attack against Israel last year, 35 per cent respondents in the poll said the number one reason behind the attack was “the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.”

Twenty-four per cent of the respondents said the reason behind the attack was “defending al-Aqsa Mosque against attacks,” The Jerusalem Post reported. Only two per cent of the respondents agreed Hamas’ attack on Israel as a proxy war for Iran.

Meanwhile, eight per cent of respondents felt the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip was the main reason for the attack.

At least 24,285 Palestinians have been killed and 61,154 have been wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the health ministry in the territory said in a statement on Tuesday.

In the past 24 hours, 158 Palestinians were killed and 320 wounded, the ministry added.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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