One in four Palestinians wanted to leave West Bank, Gaza before war - poll
Young Palestinians are likely to want to emigrate from Gaza and the West Bank to seek better economies in Turkey, Germany and Canada.
A poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), which collected data from just before Hamas’s October 7 attacks on southern Israel, found that one in four Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank wanted to emigrate.
The poll, which was published at the end of June, found the Palestinian desire to leave the territories was similar to levels recorded in 2021.
In 2021, 33% of Gazans and 20% of Palestinians in the West Bank wanted to emigrate, while last year 31% of Gazans and 21% of Palestinians in the West Bank said the same.
Demographic differences in those wanting to stay and leave
In the West Bank, 28% of Palestinian adults under the age of 30 said they would like to emigrate elsewhere.
In Gaza, 44% of adults under the age of 30 said that they wanted to leave the Palestinian enclave.
In the Gaza Strip, 38% of men and only 24% of women said they wanted to go, while the difference between men and women in the West Bank was far less significant at 21% to 20%.
Supporters of Fatah were also more than twice as likely to want to leave Gaza than Hamas supporters (31% to 14%).
The difference between the two groups in the West Bank was significantly less pronounced, with only 16% of Fatah supporters wanting to leave compared to 19% of Hamas supporters. Third party supporters were significantly more likely to want to leave in both Gaza (45%) and the West Bank (48%).
Forty-five percent of all those wanting to leave cited economic reasons, with political and security reasons being less significant.
The most popular option for Palestinians wanting to leave the territories was Turkey, at 19%.
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