A poll of attitudes in Gaza and the West Bank by a Palestinian group found a sharp drop in support for rocket attacks on Israel and a slight rise in backing for the moderate Fatah political movement.

The survey, conducted by the Ramallah-based Jerusalem Media and Communications Center, found that 38.4 percent of Palestinians supported firing rockets at Israel, Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported Wednesday.

The number was down from 74% support in a December poll, taken in the immediate wake of Israel’s anti-rocket fire operation in Gaza, which had led to a spike in support for Hamas and violent resistance at the time.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

In April 2011, just over 25% of Palestinians supported rocket fire, according to the group.

The report also found slightly more backing for the ruling Fatah faction, which saw support climb from 38.5% to 42.6% among the Palestinian public.

Much of the backing came at the expense of rival group Hamas.

In December, 28.2% said they would vote for the hard-line Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, but that number dropped to 20.6% in March, the survey found.

In November, Israel waged an eight-day battle against Hamas in a bid to stem rocket fire on Israeli towns. The operation led to a swell in support for Hamas, whom many Palestinians saw as the victors in the mini-war, but the survey shows that public opinions may have swung back toward the center.

The group found that while nearly 51% of Palestinians supported “military” operations against Israel in December, by March that figure had dropped to 31.1%.

The survey was conducted by interviewing hundreds of Palestinians in late March and had a margin of error of 3%.