How important is the issue of Palestine in your priorities?
Eighty-six percent of non-Palestinians rated it the most important or
within their top three priorities, compared with 73 percent in 2006.
What two steps by the U.S. would improve your views of the U.S. most?
In 2006, 62 percent said brokering a comprehensive Middle East peace
with Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 border and establishing a
Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. This year, that figure
dropped to 50 percent, with 44 percent choosing a U.S. withdrawal from
Iraq.
What do you believe is the likely outcome if the prospects for a
two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict collapse?
Fifty-five percent in 2008 said it would lead to a state of intense
conflict for years to come. Twenty-three percent said the status quo
would continue with little change.
What do you believe motivates Israeli policies in the region and U.S. support for these policies?
Forty-one percent in 2008 said the United States and Israel have mutual
interests most of the time. That compares with 42 percent who said the
same in 2006.
"The trends in Arab public attitudes are telling," Mr. Telhami
concluded, in part. "Despite the Iraq war and the increasing focus on a
Sunni-Shiite divide, the Palestinian question remains a central prism
through which Arabs view the world. Palestinian divisions make it
harder for the public to decide 'what's good for the Palestinians,' but
this has so far translated into a trend toward sympathy with militants,
pessimism about the prospects of Arab-Israel peace, and anger with
Israel and the United States. Given that most Arabs in principle still
support the two-state solution, this trend is not irreversible,
especially if a Palestinian-Israeli agreement is concluded. But until
then, the trend is likely to continue and not only affect support for
Hamas and Hezbollah in the Arab-Israeli arena, but also translate into
more resentment of Arab governments and more support for militant
opposition even away from this arena."