Editing Hamas (section)

== Public opinion ==
A poll conducted in 2021 found that 53% of Palestinians believed Hamas was "most deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people". Only 14% preferred Abbas's Fatah party.<ref>{{cite news |date=15 June 2021 |title=Poll finds dramatic rise in Palestinian support for Hamas |publisher=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/hamas-middle-east-science-32095d8e1323fc1cad819c34da08fd87}}</ref> At the same time, a majority of Gazans also saw Hamas as corrupt, but were frightened to criticize the group.<ref>Fattel, Isabel.  [https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/10/what-is-hamas/675594/ "What is Hamas?"] ''The Atlantic''.  9 October 2023.  9 October 2023.</ref> Polls conducted in September 2023 found that support for Hamas among Palestinians stood at around 27–31%.<ref>{{cite web |date=13 September 2023 |title=Public Opinion Poll No (89) |url=https://pcpsr.org/en/node/955 |access-date=10 October 2023 |website=[[Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research]]}}</ref>

Public opinions of Hamas deteriorated after it took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Prior to the takeover, 62% of Palestinians had held a favorable view of the group, while a third had negative views. According to a 2014 Pew Research survey just prior to the [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict]], only about a third had positive opinions, and more than half viewed Hamas negatively. Furthermore, 68% of Israeli Arabs viewed Hamas negatively.<ref name="pew2014">[http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/07/01/concerns-about-islamic-extremism-on-the-rise-in-middle-east/ Concerns about Islamic Extremism on the Rise in Middle East]. Pew Research. 1 July 2014.</ref> In July 2014, 65% of Lebanese viewed Hamas negatively. In Jordan and Egypt, roughly 60% viewed Hamas negatively, and in Turkey, 80% had a negative view of Hamas. In Tunisia, 42% had a negative view of Hamas, while 56% of Bangladeshis and 44% of Indonesians had a negative opinion of Hamas.<ref name="pew2014"/>

Hamas popularity surged after the [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict|war in July–August 2014]] with polls reporting that 81 percent of Palestinians felt that Hamas had "won" that war.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hamas popularity 'surges after Gaza war'|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/09/hamas-popularity-surges-after-gaza-war-20149215723979443.html|publisher=Al Jazeera English|date=2 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Poll: Hamas popularity surges after war with Israel|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/09/02/poll-hamas-popularity-surges-after-war-with-israel/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=2 September 2014}}</ref> A June 2021 opinion poll found that 46% of respondents in [[Saudi Arabia]] supported rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas during the [[2021 Israel–Palestine crisis]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Recent Saudi Poll: Increased Support for Moderate Islam, Hamas, and Ties with Arab Partners |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/recent-saudi-poll-increased-support-moderate-islam-hamas-and-ties-arab-partners |publisher=The Washington Institute |date=27 August 2021}}</ref> A March/April 2023 poll found that 60% of Jordanians viewed Hamas firing rockets at Israel at least somewhat positively.<ref>{{cite news |last=Almaari |first=Faris |title=New Public Opinion Poll: Jordanians Favor De-escalation in the Region, But Sentiment Against Israel Remains |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/new-public-opinion-poll-jordanians-favor-de-escalation-region-sentiment-against |publisher=The Washington Institute |date=9 June 2023}}</ref>

Following the [[7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel|Hamas-led attack on Israel]] in October 2023 and the [[Gaza war]] that followed, Hamas's popularity in Gaza fell while increasing in the West Bank. A May 2024 poll by the ''Arab World for Research and Development'', a West Bank-based independent organization, only a quarter of Gazans supported Hamas, while 76% of Palestinians in the West Bank views Hamas positively. Views on the attack among Gazans plummeted from 50% support to 24% in favor from a poll taken in November 2023 to the May 2024 poll.<ref>{{cite web | last=Scheindlin | first=Dahlia | title=How Popular Is Hamas, in Gaza and Outside of It, After Nine Months of War? | website=Haaretz.com | date=17 July 2024 | url=https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/2024-07-17/ty-article-magazine/.premium/how-popular-is-hamas-in-gaza-and-outside-of-it-after-nine-months-of-war/00000190-bfda-d211-a5da-ffdbea210000 | access-date=21 October 2024}}</ref>  According to the poll conducted by ''[[The Washington Institute for Near East Policy]]'' from 14 November to 6 December 2023, 40% of [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] participants expressed a positive view of Hamas, 95% of Saudis did not believe that Hamas killed civilians in its [[2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel|attack on Israel]], and only 16% of Saudis said Hamas should accept a [[two-state solution]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Saudis Overwhelmingly Oppose Ties With Israel, Poll Finds |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/22/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-poll-israel-gaza-war-hamas.html |work=The New York Times |date=22 December 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Pro Hamas Rally in Damascus.jpg|thumb|Pro-Hamas rally in [[Damascus]], Syria.]]