Why Palestinians have lost faith in Iran
A recent survey showed that the majority of Palestinians are opposed to Iran and its policies in the region despite Tehran's support for the Palestinian cause.
The Qatari Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) on March 14 issued the 2016 results of the Arab Index, its annual survey of Arab public opinion. The center dispatched 840 Doha-based researchers to Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Palestine to conduct polls last Sept. 7-22 on various issues, including how Palestinians view the foreign policies adopted by Middle Eastern and international powers. According to the survey, Palestinians have a negative impression of Iranian policy in the region, especially in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya, and of its stance toward the Palestinian cause.
Ahmad Hussein, a Palestinian researcher at ACRPS, told Al-Monitor, “The survey showed that Palestinians have a negative view toward Iran, which contributes to the region’s crises and fuels sectarian and ethnic disputes in order to play a more effective, influential role. Seventy percent of Palestinians believe Iranian policy toward the Arab region is negative.”
