JERUSALEM — Almost half of Gazans may be willing to apply to Israel to help them leave to other countries, according to a survey yesterday that also showed notable support for anti-Hamas protests.

The survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research was based on polling of people across the Gaza Strip and in the occupied West Bank between May 1 and May 4, some six weeks after Israeli forces resumed operations in Gaza following the breakdown of a brief ceasefire.

The Centre, a think tank based in Ramallah and funded by Western donors, said in the report that 49 per cent of those surveyed declared that they would be willing to apply to Israel to help them emigrate via Israeli ports and airports, against 50 per cent who said they would not be willing to do so.