Poll: Majority of Jordanians consider Palestinian cause top regional issue

AMMAN — Only 27 per cent of Jordanians are interested in politics, out of which 34 per cent follow the political news of Jordan, according to a public opinion poll conducted by the Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan.

As part of the “Jordanian Street Pulse” poll series, the survey on the Jordanian foreign policy and international relations was conducted from April 23 to 29, based on a representative sample of Jordanian society from all governorates, including Jordanian intellectuals and opinion leaders, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

When asked about the most common sources of local news, TV was the most common, at 35 per cent, while the opinion leaders’ percentage was 55 per cent. About 35 per cent of the public and 29 per cent of opinion leaders surveyed sated that they rely on the Internet. 

The majority of the respondents, 87 per cent of the surveyed population at the grassroots level and 92 per cent of the experts, said the Palestinian cause is the top regional issue, and 5 per cent said that the issue of the Syrian refugees in Jordan is the major issue. 

The results also showed that the majority of the respondents, 87 per cent of the opinion leaders and 45 per cent of the respondents at the grassroots level, think that “Israel’s existence poses the greatest threat to the Arab world”, followed by Iran at 4 per cent.

About 21 per cent of the sample and 99 per cent of the intellectuals and opinion leaders surveyed said that they follow the news related to the Jordanian foreign policy.

The majority of the opinion leaders, at 63 per cent, and 33 per cent of surveyed at the grassroots level expressed their satisfaction with the Kingdom’s foreign policy, while 51 per cent of the surveyed group at the grassroots level said that they cannot decide if they are satisfied or not. 

The results showed that 35 per cent of Jordanians surveyed think Saudi Arabia is the Kingdom’s top ally followed by the UAE and Palestine, while the US is the biggest non-Arab ally with 52 per cent, followed by the UK.

Results of the poll showed that 49 per cent of those surveyed think that in terms of economic support, Saudi Arabia is the biggest Arab supporter, followed by the UAE and Qatar, while the US is the biggest non-Arab supporter to the Kingdom, followed by the UK and Germany.

On political support, the respondents said that the US is the biggest supporter at 33 per cent, while in terms of security support, the results showed that the US is the greatest supporter at 31 per cent, followed by the UK and Saudi Arabia. 

About 26 per cent of the Jordanians prefer cooperation with Saudi Arabia, if they have the choice, while 18 per cent said they will choose Turkey and 17 per cent said will choose the UAE.

As for the experts sample, 36 per cent said that Egypt is the Kingdom’s top ally, followed by Saudi Arabia at 17 per cent, while the US is the biggest non-Arab top ally for the Kingdom.

On Jordanian-Israeli ties, the poll said that 46 per cent believe that it is in the Jordanian interest to maintain the minimum level of relations with Israel. The majority of the sample said that they are satisfied with the Kingdom’s response to the recent violations against Al Aqsa Mosque. 

Almost 69 per cent of the experts and 29 per cent of the surveyed group at the grassroots level support the two-state solution for the Palestine-Israel conflict.