GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The findings of a recent opinion poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research were clear and surprising.

The survey, conducted June 2-4, showed that 65% of the public in the West Bank and Gaza Strip want President Mahmoud Abbas to resign. “Demand for Abbas’ resignation stands at 64% in the West Bank and 67% in the Gaza Strip,” read the findings. The survey indicated that 31% want Abbas to remain in office.

If presidential elections were held now, according to the poll, Abbas and two other candidates — Ismail Haniyeh, deputy chairman of Hamas' political bureau, and Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who is currently incarcerated in Israel — would receive 20%, 35% and 40% of the vote, respectively.

Walid Ladadweh, an official with the Ramallah-based center’s survey research department, told Al-Monitor that the center applies the latest scientific methodologies when conducting its surveys and the margin of error does not exceed 3%. The center chooses the survey sample in cooperation with the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. In this particular survey, the sample included 1,270 people from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.