A recent survey conducted by Al Najah University in Nablus reveals a dramatic shift in Palestinian public opinion, with support for Hamas waning and Fatah gaining power in the polls.

According to the survey, which polled 1,360 residents in the Palestinian Authority, if elections for the Palestinian parliament were held today, 34.8 percent would vote for Fatah, as opposed to only 18.8 percent who would vote for Hamas.

In addition, over 60% of respondents polled said they support the continuance of terror attacks within Israel.

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The survey shows that if elections were held today for the Palestinian presidency, nearly 40 percent would vote for the Fatah candidate, with only 17.4 percent claiming they would vote for the Hamas candidate.

As the Palestinian public suffers from an economic crisis as a result of the boycott of the Hamas government, nearly 30 percent of the people asked said they believe early elections held today would help to relieve the economic strife. Only 26.5 percent said they were not sure it would help.

The findings contradict former polls, which showed great support for the Hamas government.

In a poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC) over 45 percent of those asked said they felt that Hamas was striving to achieve the goals of their campaign for the parliament; reform and change.

The poll further held that only 26.7 percent felt that Hamas wasn't making a serious effort to achieve its goals.

JMCC conducted the survey last July and polled 1,197 Palestinians.

The recent findings by Al Najah University also contradict the findings of Dr. Khalil Shikaki, a top pollster in the territories, from March 16 to 18 of this year.

That poll, which surveyed 1,270 residents of the Palestinian territories, revealed that since the victory of Hamas in the parliamentary elections, there has been a constant rise in their popularity compared to Fatah.

The study found that 47 percent of those polled stated they would vote for Hamas again, as opposed to only 37 percent that answered that they would support Fatah.