Poll: Arabs overwhelmingly support Hamas Oct. 7 attack

A new survey finds that Arabs across the Middle East and North Africa overwhelmingly agree with the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre and kidnappings. The extensive effort surveyed residents of 16 nations representing 95% of the population.

The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, a think tank funded by Qatar, asked 8,000 Arabs in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen and the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria between Dec. 12, 2023 and Jan. 5, 2024.

Only 5% denounced Hamas’s war crimes as an “illegitimate operation,” while 3% said that it was a “legitimate resistance operation that involved heinous (unacceptable) or even criminal acts.”

A damaged and blood-stained kindergarten is seen following a deadly infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel October 22, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN) pic.twitter.com/2ZUU7xGuGt

— Mickangelo (@Mickangello) October 24, 2023

Around two-thirds said the Oct. 7 terror attacks in southern Israel were a “legitimate resistance operation”; 19% said that the massacre was a “somewhat flawed but legitimate resistance operation.”

The massacre received the highest support in Libya, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco and among Palestinians, with a staggering 0% of Judea and Samaria residents agreeing that the atrocities of Oct. 7, which also included beheadings, rape and other sexual offenses, were illegitimate.

Most Arabs said they disapproved of recognizing the State of Israel, with 89% saying they would support rejecting or revoking such a move, up from 84% in 2022. Meanwhile, support for the recognition of the Jewish state was the highest in Sudan (14%), Lebanon (8%) and Morocco (7%).

Just over half of the respondents said they considered the United States to be the biggest threat to the security and stability of the region, followed by Israel (26%) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (7%).

According to a @dohainstitute poll that asked
people in various Arab countries what do they think about Hamas’ massacre, in which more than 1200 Israelis were murdered, 0% of Palestinians in the PA (yes, 0%) thought it was illegitimate.

Source: https://t.co/hvuDHdKqi8 pic.twitter.com/qDUnuV0oUO

— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) January 23, 2024

The Qatari poll confirmed previous studies showing that Palestinian Arabs overwhelmingly support the wholesale murder of Jewish men, women and children by Islamist terrorists.

A poll published last month by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that nearly three in four Palestinians believe that Hamas was “correct” in launching the Oct. 7 attacks.

When asked to rate their satisfaction with various Palestinian actors, Hamas took the lead among the respondents with 72% satisfaction, followed by Hamas chief in Gaza Yahya Sinwar (69%) and the Islamist terror group’s “political” leader, Ismail Haniyeh (51%).

According to the PSR, more than half believe that Hamas is “the most deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people today.”

A separate poll released just weeks earlier found almost all (98%) of the Palestinian Arabs said the slaughter made them feel “prouder of their identity as Palestinians.”

The Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack is the world’s third deadliest in modern history. The Sept. 11 attacks remain number one.

–JNS.org | used with permission