Many Palestinians regard President Abu Mazen as a weak leader who won’t be able to bring them a State.

According to a poll conducted by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Information Research (PSR), 81% of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza believe that there is corruption in the Palestinian Authority and only 30% believe that corruption will decline in the future. Last November, 84% believed corruption existed in the PA.

“Abu Mazen has no control,” says Mohammed Abed, a resident of Jericho. “He doesn’t even control his own police force. Life was much better for us before Abu Mazen came to power. Because of his bad leadership, Abu Mazen is responsible for the crisis between Fatah and Hamas.”

Hamas took control of Gaza last June largely because of the corruption of Abu Mazen’s Fatah faction and government.

Many people were unhappy with the Fatah government and the way they treated the people in the Gaza Strip, says Serren Fayez, a housewife from Gaza City.

She and many residents of the Gaza Strip claim that the security situation has remarkably improved since the Hamas takeover.

“Now in Gaza we feel more secure and we can go to work without fear,” Mrs Fayez explained. “Students feel more comfortable at their universities and there are no fights or killings. These days remind me of the period when the late Yasser Arafat was in power. Today we have a better life and we feel that there is a government and that the police care about our security.”

In January 2006 many Palestinians voted for Hamas because they were unhappy with the leadership of Fatah and Abu Mazen.

No one is perfect and people make mistakes. But the real challenge is how to overcome the mistakes without losing the people’s trust. In the Palestinian case, the late president Yasser Arafat was a perfect example of a powerful and strong leader. Despite the mistakes he made, he was the perfect leader to lead the Palestinians.

During his rule, the Palestinians were united despite their political differences. Even Hamas was willing to listen to him. They had a lot of respect for him because he was a symbol and a hero for the Palestinians.

The late president brought together all Palestinians - Christians and Muslims, young and old.