On Wednesday, January 10, 2024, the Arab Center for Research and Policy released the results of a public opinion poll on Israel’s war in Gaza.
The survey was conducted on a sample of 8,000 participants (both men and women) from 16 Arab countries. The purpose of the survey was to find out the opinion of citizens of the Arab region on important issues related to the Gaza conflict.
The results showed that 97% of respondents are experiencing varying levels of psychological stress due to the war, with 84% reporting severe stress.
It was also found that 80% of the participants regularly follow news about the war and only 7% do not, indicating that the Arab public perceives the conflict as a local issue. Television was the main source of information for 54% of the participants and the Internet for 43%. The results also showed that the majority (92%) of Arab respondents expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza, while 69% expressed support for Hamas.
When asked about the reasons for Hamas’ military operation in October, 35% of respondents believe it was a response to the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, 24% believe it was to protect against the Israeli attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and 8% believe it was as a result of the long-term blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In addition, 67% of respondents consider Hamas’ military operation a legitimate form of resistance, 19% believe it was somewhat imperfect but still legitimate, and 3% believe it was related to criminal acts. Only 5% consider it illegitimate.
The majority of respondents (94%) evaluate the position of the United States regarding the war negatively, with 82% considering it very bad. Similarly, 79%, 78% and 75% of respondents, respectively, view the position of France, Great Britain and Germany negatively. Opinions are divided on the position of Iran, Turkey, Russia and China. Regarding the attitude towards the United States, 76% of the respondents stated that they have more negative feelings after the war, which indicates a loss of confidence in the United States. Some 81% of respondents believe that the U.S. government is not serious about the creation of a Palestinian state in the territories occupied in 1967 (West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip).
In addition, 77% of respondents identified the United States and Israel as the greatest threats to the security and stability of the region.
With 51% identifying the United States as the greatest threat and 26% identifying Israel as the greatest threat. The majority of respondents (82%) believe that the coverage of the war in the American media was biased towards Israel, and only 7% consider it neutral.
The survey also found that 92% of respondents consider the Palestinian issue to be an Arab issue, not just a Palestinian issue. This number has increased significantly since 2011, from 76% to 92% this year.
Some countries, such as Morocco, Egypt, Sudan and Saudi Arabia, have seen a significant increase in this opinion.
| 2022 | 2024 | |
| Rejects recognition of Israel | 84% | 89% |
| Support its recognition of Israel | 4% |
The majority of Arab public opinion (89%) rejects recognition of Israel, compared with 84% in 2022, and only 4% support its recognition.
Notably, in Saudi Arabia, the proportion of those who reject recognition of Israel has increased from 38% in 2022 to 68% in this survey. Similar increases were seen in countries such as Morocco and Sudan.
When asked what measures Arab governments should take to stop the war in Gaza, 36% of respondents believe that all relations or normalization processes with Israel should be suspended, 14% suggest importing aid to Gaza without Israeli permission, and 11% recommend using oil as a weapon to pressure Israel and its supporters.
