Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics "PCBS"

The Survey Results Victimization Survey 2012.

Main Findings

PCBS conducted the fifth round of the Victimization Survey of 2012. Data collection was conducted during the fourth quarter of 2012 (04/10/2012 – 31/12/2012).

The main objective of the survey is to monitor key indicators concerning current status of households and individuals subjected to criminal offenses.

The survey was based on a questionnaire completed by a random sample of 7,704 households: 5,168 in the West Bank and 2,536 in Gaza Strip.

Criminal Offenses against Households

In the survey, offenses against households were 9.6% of Palestinian households in Palestine: 7.1% in the West Bank and 13.4% in Gaza Strip.   

The offenses cited in the survey were including: theft, (excluding vehicles) (3.2%), theft of a vehicle or part of it (4.3%), damage to property (0.5%), threats to property (0.3%), and assault on property (0.7%).

In addition, 4.4% of households had been subjected to harassment or assault by Israeli soldiers or settlers.

In general the results showed that crime against households was higher in Gaza Strip than in the West Bank.

Criminal Offenses against Individuals

1.8% of individuals in Palestine had been victims of a criminal offense: 1.4% in the West Bank and 2.3% in Gaza Strip.   

Criminal offenses against individuals in Palestine were as follows: 37.8 % theft (43.5%  in the West Bank and 32% in Gaza Strip);  6.2% assaults (8.4% in the West Bank and 3.9% in Gaza Strip); 3.0% damage to property (4.2% in the West Bank and 1.9% in Gaza Strip); and 42.2% of individuals had been harassed or assaulted by Israeli soldiers or settlers (24.8% in the West Bank and 59.7% in Gaza Strip), out of victimized individuals.

49.4% of criminal offenses in Palestine took place inside the home, 19.0% near to the home, 12.8% outside the locality and 17.2% took place elsewhere in the locality. The percentage of criminal offenses occurring inside the home in Gaza Strip was 71.1% compared with 27.6% in the West Bank.  The number of criminal offenses that were taken place outside the locality was low in Gaza Strip at 4.2% compared with 21.2% in the West Bank.

Reported crime by victims of offenses in Palestine increased to 55.8% in 2012 compared to 53.0% in 2008.

The percentage of criminal offenses against individuals causing actual bodily harm was 5.5%; and it was higher in the West Bank at 7.6% compared with 3.3% in Gaza Strip.

The results showed that 20.6% of the criminal offenses against individuals in Palestine caused tangible losses of more than 1000 Jordanian dinars.