A near consensus of the Arab world holds a negative view of the United States because of its support for Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a poll released Thursday showed.
The poll by Arab Center Washington DC in cooperation with The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies surveyed 8,149 people by telephone from Dec. 12 to Jan. 5 from 16 countries that represent approximately 95% of the population across the Arab region: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, the West Bank in Israel, and Yemen. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
It found that 94% said the U.S. has a bad or very bad position because of its support for Israel, even though the Biden administration has been pushing for a temporary cease-fire to allow the return of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip and for more humanitarian aid to be provided to Palestinians. Only 3% said the U.S. had a good or very good position on the war.
Iran (48%) and Turkey (47%) were viewed most favorable, followed by Russia (41%) and China (40%), although 42% had a more negative view of Russia.
The poll also found that 76% said their attitude toward the U.S. had become more negative than before the war started, with 19% saying it had not changed and 1% saying it became more positive. And 51% said the U.S. was the biggest threat to peace and stability in the region, followed by Israel (26%) and Iran (7%).
"The consideration of the U.S. as the biggest threat increased after Israel's war on Gaza" compared to previous years, said Tamara Kharroub, deputy executive director and senior fellow at Arab Center Washington DC, in a video posted on the center's website.
Kharroub said the poll is part of the Arab Opinion Index, which has been conducted annually in the Arab world since 2011 and is the largest public opinion survey covering the Middle East and North Africa.
Among the positions of Arab countries, Qatar (51%) was viewed most favorable and the United Arab Emirates (67%) and Saudi Arabia (64%) the least favorable. The Palestinian Authority, the governing body of the West Bank, was viewed negatively by 54% of respondents.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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