Doha- An opinion poll conducted by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, which was unveiled today, Wednesday, in a press conference, showed a consensus in the Arab street regarding the Palestinian issue as “the issue of all Arabs and not the issue of Palestinians alone” by 92%, which is an unprecedented percentage, as the percentage rose by 16%. %, compared to 76% recorded at the end of 2022.
included The most prominent proposals put forward by a public opinion poll are that Arab governments must stop the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, which has continued since October 7, 2023, Cutting ties with Israel, bringing aid into the Gaza Strip, using oil weapons, and creating a global coalition to boycott Israel.
The percentage of considering the Palestinian issue as the issue of all Arabs has increased significantly in some countries. In Morocco it rose from 59% in 2022 to 95%, in Egypt from 75% to 94%, and in Saudi Arabia from 69% to 95%, in a way that reflects a fundamental shift in Opinions of citizens of these countries.
According to the poll, which included a sample size of 8,000 male and female respondents, during the period from December 12 to January 5 of this year, in 16 Arab societies, Arab public opinion is not convinced that the Al-Aqsa Flood operation carried out by the Palestinian resistance movement Against the Israeli occupation to achieve a foreign agenda, and 89% of Arabs refuse to let their countries recognize Israel.
Solidarity with Gaza against the aggression
36% of the citizens of the Arab region believe – according to the results of the same poll – that the most important measure for Arab governments to stop the aggression on the Gaza Strip is for these governments to sever their relations with Israel or cancel normalization processes with it, while 14% of respondents believed that it is to introduce humanitarian aid. To the Gaza Strip without Israel’s approval, and 11% favored using oil weapons to put pressure on Israel and its supporters.
The percentages of the rest of the proposals to end the war varied, between the necessity of establishing a global coalition to boycott Israel (9%), providing military aid to the Gaza Strip (8%), declaring military mobilization (5%), reconsidering relations with the United States (4%), and reconsidering relations with the United States (4%). Consider the countries that support Israel’s war (3%), and other opinions in small percentages.
Also, 69% of the respondents expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the Hamas movement, while 23% reported that they are in solidarity with the Palestinian people even if they disagree with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), while the percentage of those who reported that they do not stand in solidarity with the Palestinians was only 1%. .
The results of the survey showed that 89% of Arab respondents refuse for their countries to recognize Israel, compared to only 4% who agree to that, while 7% abstained from expressing an opinion, which represents an increase in the percentage by 5% from 2022, as the percentage of those who reject Recognition 84%.
Legitimate resistance
The poll highlighted that Arab public opinion is not convinced that the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on October 7 was the fulfillment of a foreign agenda, as 35% of respondents considered that the most important reason for the operation was the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, while 24% attributed it to Defending Al-Aqsa Mosque against its targeting, and 8% saw it as a result of the continued siege of the Gaza Strip.
The opinions of other respondents varied between freeing Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons (6%), against the continuation and expansion of settlement in the Palestinian territories (5%), the international community’s lack of interest in the rights of Palestinians and the continuation of the occupation (4%), and Israel’s refusal to establish a Palestinian state (4%) %), and other opinions in small percentages.
As for the discussion about the legitimacy of that operation, 67% of Arab public opinion agreed that the operation was a “legitimate resistance operation,” while 19% evaluated it as a “legitimate resistance operation that was marred by some errors,” and 5% considered it an “illegitimate operation.” “.
The survey showed that Arab citizens deal with this war as if it affects them directly, as 97% of respondents expressed that they feel psychological pressure (to varying degrees) as a result of the war on the Gaza Strip, and 84% even said that they feel great psychological pressure.
About 80% of the respondents reported that they regularly follow war news, compared to 7% who said that they do not follow it. The highest percentage of follow-up was recorded in Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon, while the sources of follow-up are distributed on television channels by 54%, and the Internet by 43%. %, while the majority of followers of war news on the Internet reported that they use social media to follow it.
Hamas is not ISIS
According to the poll, there is almost consensus among Palestinian respondents from the West Bank and Jerusalem – with rates exceeding 95% – that the level of safety in the West Bank, the possibility of movement between its governorates and cities, their sense of security and personal safety, and their economic situation were affected as a result of the war.
60% of Palestinians in the West Bank reported that they were subjected to or were witnesses to incursions into their areas by the occupation army, 44% said that they were subjected to arrest or interrogation by the Israeli army, and 22% reported that they were subjected to settler attacks or harassment.
In the context of what Israeli politicians and some American officials circulated about likening the Hamas movement to the Islamic State (ISIS), a third of Arab public opinion, 67%, believes that they are completely different from each other, while 15% said that Hamas differs from the organization to a great extent, and 5 % considered that Hamas is partly different from it, while only 3% said that Hamas is not different from ISIS.
America and Israel
At the level of Arab public opinion’s assessment of the policies of regional and international powers toward the war on the Gaza Strip, the results of the poll reflected that Arab public opinion opposes the policy of the United States of America toward the war on Gaza. 94% of respondents evaluated its position as “bad” and “very bad.” While 3% considered it good, and 1% said it was very good.
In the same context, 79%, 78%, and 75% agree that the positions of France, Britain, and Germany, respectively, are negative toward the war on the Gaza Strip, while Arab public opinion was divided regarding the positions of Iran, Turkey, Russia, and China, among those who saw them as positive (48% , 47%, 41%, 40%, respectively), and some of them were considered negative (37%, 40%, 42%, 38%, respectively).
According to the poll, 76% of respondents reported that their view of the United States has become more negative based on its positions on the war, and the results reflect that it has lost its credibility with Arab public opinion, as 81% of respondents reported that it is not serious in working to establish a Palestinian state in the territories. Occupied since 1967 (the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem).
About 77% of Arab public opinion agreed that the United States and Israel are the most threatening to the security and stability of the region. 51% saw the United States as the most threatening, and 26% saw Israel as the greatest threat. The rest of the opinions varied between Iran (7%) and Russia. (4%), France (2%), Turkey (2%), and China (1%), and others answered “other countries” or “I don’t know” in varying proportions.
As for the American media’s coverage of the course of the war on the Gaza Strip, 82% of respondents reported that it was biased towards Israel, while only 7% considered it neutral, while 4% saw it as biased towards Palestine.