IDF: Hamas falsified public opinion polls to fabricate popular support; majority of Gazans oppose Hamas attacks on Israel

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Israeli Defense Forces claim Hamas is manipulating public opinion surveys to falsely portray popular support for its actions, while most Gazans reportedly believe the group should not have attacked Israel.

Results from a public opinion poll conducted by the Palestinian Survey Research Institute were deliberately falsified to give the impression that Hamas enjoys broad public support, according to an IDF statement on Thursday evening.

“These falsified results are designed to portray a misleading image of broad public support for Hamas and its leadership, particularly in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre,” the IDF stated.

During an IDF military operation of the Hamas General Security Apparatus in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military uncovered documents that revealed Hamas systematically falsified public opinion polls conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in Ramallah, which operates under the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas.

Images released by the IDF included a comparison of the original and falsified PSR poll results from March 2024.

“The IDF just exposed Hamas for manipulating public opinion surveys by the Palestinian polling institute (PSR) to fake support for its leaders, especially after the October 7 massacre,” the IDF wrote in a post on 𝕏.

The polls appeared to have been forged to improve the image of Yahya Sinwar, the senior Hamas leader in Gaza.

“The documents, found during operations in Gaza, show how Hamas altered PSR's March 2024 results to falsely boost Yahya Sinwar's popularity. There's no evidence PSR was involved – Hamas did this on its own. This just proves how far Hamas is willing to go to keep up the appearance of strength,” the IDF added.

The original poll indicated that only 30.7% of Gazans believed Hamas's decision to attack Israel on Oct. 7 was justified. However, Hamas manipulated this figure, raising it to 71.3%. Conversely, while 64.4% of Gazans actually expressed that the decision to attack Israel was wrong, Hamas altered this number to just 23%.

Similarly, when asked about the best way to achieve Palestinian goals, 49.8% of Gazans initially responded that political negotiations were the preferred method. However, Hamas altered this figure to just 23%. Meanwhile, 28.1% had expressed a preference for "armed activity," a number that Hamas increased to 39%. In addition, 20% of Gazans favored "non-violent resistance," but Hamas falsified this figure to 27%.

Regarding who they believed would win the war between Israel and Hamas, 51.2% of Gazans originally responded that they thought Israel would prevail, while 30% believed Hamas would win. However, the poll was manipulated to show that only 18% believed Israel would win, while 56% believed Hamas would emerge victorious.

The “documents had exposed a deliberate strategy by Hamas to mask the organization's declining public support and to manipulate perceptions both within the Palestinian territories and in the international arena," the IDF stated.

The IDF emphasized that it had not found evidence of direct collaboration between Hamas and the PSR in forging poll results. Instead, the IDF suggested that Hamas used "on-the-ground influence" to manipulate the survey results.

The findings reveal just how much Hamas relies on public opinion, the IDF stated.

“These findings underscore the importance Hamas places on public opinion, as it attempts to falsely project widespread support among Gazans.”