Ninety-four percent of Palestinians reject US President Donald Trump's Mideast initiative, according to a poll released Tuesday, which also found plummeting support for a two-state solution with Israel and nearly two-thirds backing armed struggle.
The first survey of Palestinian public opinion to be released since Trump's plan was announced undercuts the administration's claims that opposition to the plan is largely confined to the Palestinian leadership and raises concerns that the implementation of the proposal could ignite a new round of violence.
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The poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research was published as thousands of Palestinians rallied in Judea and Samaria and Gaza to reject the Trump plan and express support for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in his efforts to gain backing at the UN Security Council for a resolution opposing it.
Trump's Mideast plan, announced at the White House on Jan. 28, would allow Israel to annex parts of Judea and Samaria, including Jewish communities that are home to hundreds of thousands of people.
The plan would give the Palestinians limited self-rule in contiguous enclaves connected by roads, bridges and tunnels, but only if they meet a list of conditions.
The Palestinian leadership, which cut off ties with the US after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017, have adamantly rejected the plan.
The opinion survey found that an overwhelming majority of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and Gaza also oppose it.
"I don't think we've ever seen such a level of consensus among the Palestinian public," said Khalil Shikaki, the head of the polling center.
Shikaki said support for the idea of a two-state solution with Israel has dropped to the lowest level since the center began carrying out surveys nearly three decades ago, with 39% in favor and 59% opposed. Support for a one-state solution – long rejected by both Israeli and Palestinian leaders – jumped from 28% in December to 37% today.
The poll found that 64% of Palestinians favor a return to armed struggle in response to the plan. Shikaki said the last time support was this high was during the worst days of the Second Intifada from 2000 to 2005.
"In all the questions in which violence is mentioned we see an increase, a significant increase," he said.
Abbas has threatened to cut off security coordination with Israel in response to the Trump plan, an approach that would enjoy wide support among Palestinians but one they doubt he will follow through on.
"The public is happy with the policy but it is not happy with the actual behavior of the president," Shikaki said. "The public does not expect the president to go through and implement his own policy."
The survey had a margin of error of 3%.
Abbas' popularity has plummeted in recent years as he has failed to bring about an independent state or mend the internal rift with the Islamic terrortist group Hamas, which seized Gaza from his forces in 2007. His Palestinian Authority also faces widespread allegations of corruption.
But on Tuesday, thousands of Palestinians packed into Manara Square in Ramallah to vent their anger at the Trump plan and express support for Abbas. A similar rally in support of Abbas was held in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
"Trump is part of the problem not the solution," an English-language banner read. "Trump's plan = apartheid," read another.
"All Palestinian people and all the factions, national and Islamic, are standing behind President Mahmoud Abbas," Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh told the crowd in Ramallah. "All the streets are full," he said. "This is the Palestinian response."
As the rally dispersed, dozens of Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces near a Jewish community just outside Ramallah. The protesters burned tires and hurled stones at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said two people were lightly wounded by small-caliber gunfire in the clashes and several others were struck by rubber bullets.
Abbas has tried to rally international support against the Trump plan, with limited success.
The UN Security Council had been expected to vote on a resolution opposing the plan Tuesday, but diplomats said the vote was delayed after several members, including European countries, objected to the language of the draft. Palestinian officials denied the resolution had been pulled, saying discussions were still underway.
In an address to the Security Council, Abbas reiterated his rejection of the plan, dismissing its map of a future Palestinian state as "Swiss cheese."
