Khalil Shikaki of the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research said on the basis of exit polls that Hamas looked set to get 53 seats and Fatah 58 seats in the 132-member Palestinian parliament.

Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki said according to polls neither Hamas nor Fatah will win a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Opinion polls vary, but all show that Fatah leads Hamas, though not by much. Fatah has 42 percent to Hamas's 35 percent, said the pollster Khalil Shikaki of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research...

Shocked and embarrassed was the best way to describe the mood at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv on Thursday after the top brass learned of the final outcome of the Palestinian Authority elections and Hamas's unexpected landslide victory.

But after the shock wore off, senior officers began wondering how the IDF had totally failed to predict what appeared in retrospect to have been clear from the outset - and pointed their fingers in one direction, at Military Intelligence.

In line with the recent Palestinian polls, MI officers, as well as Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry officials, had for the past month predicted that Hamas would win somewhere between 30 percent to 40% of the vote, but that the ultimate winner would be Fatah...

WASHINGTON - A study published here Thursday suggests that the Palestinians are more willing than ever to compromise with Israel and that now is the time to move forward to a final-status solution.

The study, conducted by Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki for the US Institute of Peace (USIP), analyzes trends in Palestinian public opinion and finds it "is not an impediment to progress in the peace process."

According to Shikaki, who is considered one of the leading experts on Palestinian public opinion, the Palestinians are now more moderate than in the past and are willing to move forward on the basis of a solution which is accepted by most Israelis...

...The study shows that between 2000 and 2004 a majority of Palestinians supported terror attacks against Israelis, but this trend has changed and now 60% oppose the use of violence.

Shikaki claims the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza "only confirmed in the public's mind the belief that violence pays and in doing so rewarded the Islamists while making the PA more irrelevant than ever."

The study points to a possible positive outcome of negotiations. He finds a majority support the two-state solution, recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and accepting the proposals outlined in previous documents. "If the PA does hold a referendum on a final-status agreement, the public will most likely support it," Shikaki concludes.

...While Hamas remains committed to Israel's destruction, the election campaign it waged stressed internal issues. Its campaign slogan, "change and reform," was meant for Palestinians who are weary of the Palestinian Authority's incompetence and corruption. Many Palestinians voted for Hamas to protest the Palestinian Authority's blunders, not so much because they support terrorism. Respected Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki notes that 75% of Palestinians support the peace process and negotiations...