Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visiting the West Bank city of Jenin. Photo: Reuters/Mohamad Torokman

Palestinian protesters marched through the streets of the West Bank last week, cheering Hamas’ recent terror atrocities in southern Israel, and expressing criticism of Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas.

In Ramallah they were chanting:

Protesters: “The people want the [Hamas’] Al-Qassam Brigades!

The people want the [Hamas’] Al-Qassam Brigades!”

[“Al-Aqsa Radio — News Flashes,” Twitter account, Oct. 18, 2023]

In Hebron and Nablus they screamed:

Protesters: “The people wants to take down the president [Abbas]!

The people wants to take down the president [Abbas]!”

[Quds News Network, Twitter account, Oct. 18, 2023]

Near Ramallah, protesters tried to block a main thoroughfare jarred with the PA police, according to Al Jazeera.

These protests come despite the open verbal support given by the Palestinian Authority through its media and by Fatah leaders to Hamas’ terror attack on Israel, which has been documented by Palestinian Media Watch.

Hamas has been popular in both Gaza and the West Bank for years. In the most recent poll measuring political support taken by the “Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research” published in June, Hamas would be the most popular Palestinian political party if legislative elections were held.

In an election for president, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh would defeat PA leader Mahmoud Abbas 56% to 33%. Ominously, both would be defeated by terrorist prisoner Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences for murder.

A July poll taken by the FIKRA forum of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy found that “57% of Gazans express at least a somewhat positive opinion of Hamas — along with similar percentages of Palestinians in the West Bank (52%) and East Jerusalem (64%).”

Significantly, the FIKRA poll also found that the terror groups most active in recent months leading up to the poll were also the most popular among Gazans: “Organizations like Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Lion’s Den receive the most widespread popular support in Gaza. About three quarters of Gazans express support for both groups.”

The two recent university student union elections held at Birzeit University in Ramallah and An-Najah University in Nablus in the West Bank, were both won by Hamas. Many observers see these election results as a good indicator of public support for Hamas.

Similarly, a Palestinian man speaking in the Gaza Strip stated that the Gazans support “everything Hamas is doing”:

Unidentified Gazan civilian: “We are for everything the resistance [i.e., Hamas] is doing. We are for the Al-Qassam [Brigades]. We are for the [Al-Quds] Brigades. We are for every Palestinian faction.”

[“Fateh_Pal65,” Twitter account, Oct. 15, 2023]

US President Joe Biden wrote on X (formerly Twitter) last week: “The vast majority of Palestinians are not Hamas. And Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.” It is unknown where Joe Biden is getting his information, but clearly he is not talking to a lot of Palestinians.

The author is the founder and Executive Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article was originally published.