Palestinians are divided over the chances of success of the national dialogue between rival groups of Hamas and Fatah, according to an opinion poll released on Sunday.

About 55 percent of the surveyed said they think the talks, which aim at reconciling the two movements in a unity government, would succeed, while 45 percent believed the Egyptian-sponsored dialogue would fail, according to the poll.

The ballot, conducted by the West Bank-based Near East Consulting, was carried out between April 27 and 30, when the factions resumed the fourth round of the dialogue in Egypt.

It investigated 908 Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with an error margin of plus or minus 3.4 percent.

The results showed that 65 percent of the polled wanted Salam Fayyad, the incumbent prime minister who heads a Western-backed government in the West Bank, to stay in office while 35 percent opposed.

President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah appointed Fayyad in June 2007 when his forces lost control of Gaza to Islamic Hamas movement.

A majority of the interviewed, 75 percent, said they trust Abbas who chairs Fatah movement while 25 percent trust Ismail Haneya, a Hamas leader who heads the sacked Hamas administration in Gaza.

Fatah also scored progress over Hamas when it came to factional popularity. The results showed that 33 percent support the secular Fatah, nine percent supports Hamas and the rest support other Palestinian groups.