While Israel remains something of a pariah in the eyes of many, the results of the annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey 2023 indicate widespread acceptance of the new conditions introduced by the Abraham Accords in the nations who have restored their ties with the country, 50% of young Moroccans are in favor of it.
“ASDA’A BCW” has just published its annual survey “Arab Youth Survey 2023” in its 15th edition. This survey, which deals with many emerging themes and current issues, was conducted, from March 27 to April 12, 2023, among 3,600 young Arabs in 53 cities in 18 states in the Middle East and North Africa. .
The survey covered five of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates), North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia, South Sudan having been added this year) and the Levant (Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Syria and Yemen).
According to the Arab Youth poll, nearly 17% of GCC citizens now consider Israel to be a “strong ally or rather an ally” of their country, while 11% of young people in North Africa are from agrees.
Three-quarters of young Emiratis and Egyptians “strongly or somewhat support” closer ties with Israel, according to the study, as do 47% of young South Sudanese and 30% of young Bahrainis. In other parts of the region, the survey finds that 86% of young Arabs say they see Israel as a “strong adversary or rather adversary” to their country, compared to 57% who view Iran the same way.
In addition, more than half, or 53% of young Bahrainis say they are strongly opposed to the restoration of ties with Israel and 44% are opposed to it in Morocco although 50% are in favor of it. The overwhelming majority of young citizens in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq and the Palestinian territories are also opposed to any deal with Israel.
Moreover, a deep pessimism hovers over relations with Iran, with 60% of young Arabs in general (and almost three-quarters of those questioned in the Levant) affirming that the tensions between Iran and Israel, as well as certain Western countries , will eventually lead to a military conflict.
In the country itself, respondents say they expect the government to become even more authoritarian under the rule of religious conservatives, growing civil unrest and a coup.
Despite strong brotherly ties with Arab nations, young Arabs are divided when it comes to Israeli-Palestinian tensions. While two-thirds of respondents in the Levant and North Africa believe the conflict is unlikely to be resolved in the next five years, almost as many, or 60%, in the GCC are optimistic about the possibility of finding a peaceful solution.
Many, however, feel the issue is sidelined, with a third (39%) saying the conflict is not getting the attention it deserves from the Arab world. moreover reached 51% in the countries of the Levant, specifies the survey.