Arab Public Blames US and Allies for Enabling Gaza War, according to poll by ACW

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --Arab citizens overwhelmingly blamed the United States and Western governments for the continuation of the war in Gaza, characterized the American position on the conflict as "very bad," and went so far as to consider the US as the number one threat to the security and stability of the Middle East.

These sentiments were recorded in a survey of Arab public opinion about the current war in Gaza, conducted by Arab Center Washington DC in cooperation with the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. The survey was conducted by telephone with 8,000 respondents in 16 Arab countries, representing some 95% of Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa.

Asked about the most important factors enabling Israel to continue its war on Gaza, 50% of the Arab public indicated that US military and political support is the most important factor, while 14% said it is the failure of Arab governments to take decisive measures against Israel to stop the war. A further 11% of respondents named the normalization agreements between Israel and some Arab governments.

The perception of the United States has worsened since similar polls were conducted in previous years, as 76% of respondents reported that their opinion of the United States has become more negative since the start of the war in Gaza. Additionally, 65% of respondents said that the US position on Gaza will harm US interests in the Arab region, while 72% said that it will harm US reputation.

Arab peoples' solidarity with Palestinians was an obvious finding in this poll, with a full 92% of respondents considering the question of Palestine as concerning all Arabs. When asked why they believe Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, the majority of respondents (73%) cited Israel's occupation of Palestinian land and Israeli government policies as the primary reasons.

Most Arabs do not believe the Biden Administration is sincere in its calls for a two-state solution after the end of the war, as advocated by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his recent visit to the region. When asked about how serious the United States is about working toward the establishment of a Palestinian state, 81% of respondents said that it is not.

The US's recent push for regional integration and normalization of relations between Arab countries and Israel is also unpopular among Arabs. A full 89% of respondents refuse to recognize Israel, a 5% increase from 2022. In Saudi Arabia, expected to be the next to normalize relations with Israel, 68% refused recognition of Israel, up from 38% in 2022. In Morocco and Sudan, two countries that have already normalized relations with Israel, 78% and 81% of respondents reject recognition, up from 67% and 72% in 2022, respectively.

Finally, 82% of Arabs believe that US media outlets are biased toward Israel in their coverage of the war in Gaza.

SOURCE Arab Center DC