Fatah still leading in popularity: poll

The ruling Fatah movement had an 11-percentage lead ahead of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in popularity, said a Palestinian poll released on Tuesday.

The poll, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Surveys and Political Polls on June 9-11, showed that the popularity rate for Fatah scored 44 percent among those surveyed while Hamas garnered 33 percent.

The poll also showed that 77 percent of the Palestinians would vote in the legislative elections despite a postponement of the ballot.

Although Fatah remained the front-runner, Hamas registered a rising popularity.

A poll conducted last December showed that Hamas' popularity was 18 percent against 41 percent for Fatah.

The Islamic group's popularity went up to 25 percent in March while Fatah's dropped to 36 percent.

Hamas, with a surging street popularity, has outperformed Fatah in recent local elections and is set to put up a strong showing in its first parliamentary bid.

Source: Xinhua