JERUSALEM, West Bank, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Hamas Islamists have maintained their popularity in the Palestinian Territories, reflecting an "almost total lack of confidence" in relaunched peace talks with Israel, a Palestinian survey said on Monday.

But the poll, conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, showed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction would defeat Hamas in legislative elections by 49 to 31 percent.

The numbers are nearly identical to those in a poll taken in September, before Abbas attended a peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last month that relaunched formal talks on Palestinian statehood.

"The stabilization of Hamas's popularity reflects an almost total lack of confidence in the peace process unleashed by the Annapolis meeting," the poll said.

Hamas, which opposes the peace talks with Israel, seized the Gaza Strip in June, prompting Israel to close its borders and allow only humanitarian aid to enter the coastal enclave. Despite deteriorating conditions in Gaza and Western moves to strengthen Abbas, Hamas remains as popular as before. The independent polling service said Hamas had recovered after losing popularity when it took over Gaza by force.

The split between Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where Fatah remains dominant, could make any peace moves with Israel difficult for Abbas.

The survey showed Abbas would defeat Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh by 56 to 37 percent if elections were held now.

A total of 1,270 adults were interviewed throughout the West Bank and Gaza for the poll, which had a margin of error of three percent. (Reporting by Wafa Amr, Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tim Pearce)

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