Syria, Lebanon fed up with Hezbollah, more favorable to Israel: polls

Residents of two of Israel’s northern neighbors — Syria and Lebanon — are turning thumbs down on the terrorist group Hezbollah and becoming more favorable to making peace with Israel, new surveys claim.

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In both nations, clear majorities now regard Iranian-backed Hezbollah’s role as harmful to their own security. Large shares consider eventual peace with Israel likely, and the post-war governments in Damascus and Beirut command broad approval ratings, according to the polls conducted by the Council for a Secure America.

The findings obtained by The Post come as President Trump announced an agreement to end the US war with Iran.

The surveys found that 68% of Syrians describe Hezbollah’s involvement there as negative — 52% “very negative” — versus only 6% who view it positively and 26% who were unsure.

Meanwhile, 57% of Syrians believe peace with Israel is likely in the future, versus 16% who think it unlikely and the remaining 27% unsure.

“Roughly eighteen months after the fall of the Assad regime, Syrians have rendered a clear verdict on the militia that helped keep that regime in power,” said Jennifer Sutton, executive director of the Council for a Secure America.

“More than two-thirds now call Hezbollah’s involvement in their country harmful, a majority would back a formal security arrangement with Israel, and most expect peace between the two nations in the years ahead,” Sutton said. “A Syrian public saying such things on the record would have been unthinkable a few years ago.”

A 53% majority would support the new Syrian government’s signing a security arrangement with Israel, with only 11% opposed while 37% gave no answer.

In Lebanon, 59% of residents said Hezbollah’s military presence has a negative impact on the country’s security, against just 11% who viewed it as positive with the remaining 40% unsure.

For the first time in the group’s ongoing tracking, more Lebanese residents support engagement with Israel than oppose it.

A 41% plurality now considers eventual peace between Israel and Lebanon likely, versus 27% who think it unlikely and the rest unsure.

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In a major development, 58% of respondents support President Joseph Aoun’s efforts to strengthen the Lebanese Army and negotiate Hezbollah’s disarmament, so that all armed forces operate under government authority.

Israel has been fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon in response to attacks on the Jewish state.

“For years the conventional wisdom held that Lebanese society was immovably opposed to any relationship with Israel. This data demolishes that assumption,” Sutton said.

But Syrian enthusiasm has cooled from a prior tracking poll during the winter, with Israel fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran.

Support for a security arrangement with Israel plummeted from 64% in January to 53% in June, and the share viewing the US role in Syria’s political and economic affairs positively has fallen from 65% to 51% over the same period, though it still outweighs the 22% who view it negatively.

Both declines are concentrated among Syrian residents under the age of 45.

“There has been some cooling since January, and it is real,” Sutton said. “But openness to Israel and to an American role remains the majority position in Syria today. The trajectory of the past year is the story that matters.”

The Council for Secure America is a pro-energy group that supports strong US-Israel ties and the Abraham Accords. It also is a cheerleader for American energy independence.

The findings are drawn from two surveys conducted in Arabic by YouGov via online panel for a Council for a Secure America from May 26-June 1.

The surveys interviewed 252 Syrian adults and 260 Lebanese adults. The margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points for both surveys.

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