Most Palestinians think Palestinian Authority is corrupt: Poll

RAMALLAH [MENL] -- An opinion poll conducted by the Nablus- based Palestinian Studies and Research Center found that the majority of Palestinians believe the Palestinian Authority is corrupt.

The poll, published on Sunday showed that 71 percent of the 1,320 randomly-selected Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip believe "there is widespread corruption throughout PA institutions.

Moreover, 66 percent said they believed the corruption will remain and even increase. in the future. Up to 67 percent of the respondents said they believed the chief means of getting a job was through favoritism, nepotism and bribery.

On democracy in the PA, 80 percent said they didn't feet the PA was democratic and there was a lack of personal and public freedom of speech.

Half the respondents said they weren't optimistic about the capabilty of the PA to reach a just and peaceful settlement with the Israelis, saying that there wasn't any difference between Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak and the incumbent Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.