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?????????????????????????????????????????????????Friday, July 13, 2018
Arab publics overwhelmingly reject Trump's foreign policy, poll shows
Palestine remains important issue for Saudis, but fear of giving honest answers explains unprecedented high attrition rate
Palestinians
prepare to burn portraits of Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman during protest in Gaza, 13 April (AFP)
Thursday 12 July 2018
As
the Trump administration prepares to unveil its much-vaunted plan for
peace between Israel and the Palestinians, it is likely to face an Arab
public that is wary of its foreign policy in the region, and
specifically on the question of Palestine.
In
a survey unveiled in Washington DC, which interviewed more than 18,000
Arab citizens in 11 countries, most respondents said they held a
negative view of US policy towards Palestine – 87 percent – up from 79
percent in 2016.
The
Arab Opinion Index, conducted by the Arab Center for Research and
Policy Studies in Doha, Qatar, found that 81 percent of Arabs also
perceived US foreign policy towards war-ravaged Syria negatively, as did
82 percent on Iraq.
The Trump administration would benefit from really understanding the real concerns of the Palestinian people, which are not economic, as the Trump peace team might think.-Tamara Kharroub, Arab Center Washington DC
"Over
the years, we said, 'It can't get any worse, it can't get any worse',
and it does get worse," said Shibley Telhami, a leading pollster and the
Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of
Maryland.
"It's
quite stunning when you look at [the Arab publics'] views of American
foreign policy, but also in terms of ranking US foreign policy in
comparison with other countries. That is striking that the US is lowest
of all those countries," he said, referring to Iran, Russia, France,
Turkey and China.
The
Index, which has been published yearly since 2011, has become a
barometer of Arab public opinion from Lebanon to Mauritania on issues
ranging from local economy to global foreign affairs.
Deal of the century
The
poll showed that more than 75 percent of the Arab world population
believes that the Palestinian cause is also an Arab one, while naming
Israel and the US as the top two threats to national security. Almost 90
percent of Arabs named Israel as a source of instability in the region.
"We've
seen the Trump administration's Middle East peace team shop around the
deal of the century to Arab leaders," said Tamara Kharroub, assistant
executive director and senior fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC.
"What's
remarkable about this deal is the profound lack of understanding of
what the Palestinian people want; but not only that, it largely
underestimates how the Arab people feel about Palestine."
She added that Palestinians, who are the main players in any peace plan, are being ignored.
For the first time since 2011, pollsters had a difficult time gauging Saudi citizens on Palestine; a large number of Saudi respondents quit the survey all-together when asked about the Palestinian cause.
"It's
counterproductive," Kharroub said. "The Trump administration would
benefit from really understanding the real concerns of the Palestinian
people, which are not economic, as the Trump peace team might think."
As
Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain recently began to
court Israel more overtly (united in their animosity towards Iran), the
survey showed that an overwhelming majority of respondents (87 percent)
disapproved of their home countries recognising Israel. Asked to
elaborate on their reasons, many cited Israel's mistreatment of
Palestinians and its colonial policies.
Only eight percent said they would accept some kind of formal diplomatic
recognition. Those who did made such recognition conditional upon the
end of Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the
formation of an independent Palestinian state.
According
to Dana al-Kurd, a researcher at the Arab Center for Research and
Policy Studies, political – not religious – reasons were given when
asked whether or not countries should recognise Israel.
"Arab
opposition to Israel is [often] painted in religious terms or it's
claimed to be some sort of inherent anti-Semitism," al-Kurd said. "But
our data shows that across self-identified religiosity levels, the
majority of respondents oppose recognition of Israel. Religiosity or
Islam versus Judaism are not the reasons behind this rejection."
Saudis reticent
For
the first time since 2011, pollsters had a difficult time gauging Saudi
citizens on Palestine; a large number of Saudi respondents quit the
survey all-together when asked about the Palestinian cause. Approximately
36 percent of Saudi Arabian survey participants said they did not know
or declined to answer, in contrast with 5 percent in the rest of the
countries polled.
Saudi
Arabia's repressive domestic political atmosphere coupled with the
ascension of Mohammed bin Salman to position of crown prince as well the
regional shift in Gulf-Israeli relations have affected the way Saudis
engaged with the survey, pollsters believe.
Saudi commentators have recently used public platforms to normalise relations with Israel. In
a column published by Alsharq Alawsat in May, Saudi author Amal Abdul
Aziz Al Hazzani, for instance, downplayed the impact of the US embassy
move to Jerusalem, praising Trump as a man of his word.
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Al-Kurd said that pollsters used
various survey methods, including what's known as 'list experiments' to
illicit true feelings, and were able to ascertain that Saudis still
supported Palestinians, despite reports of the contrary.
"The
Palestinian cause remains important to the Saudi sample, but that fear
of responding truthfully explains the lack of response and high
attrition rate," al-Kurd said.
The
issue of Palestine remains a central issue for all Arabs, agreed
Kharroub. Since polling started in the Arab world, the data has been
showing that the Palestinian cause is "an issue of justice that the
Arabs see or lack thereof in the US approach to the region", she
explained.
"That's
why it remains an important factor driving developments in the region,
from recruitment by extremist groups to regional stability, Arab
attitudes towards the United States and even US national security."