Less than one-in-five Lebanese now oppose normalizing ties with Israel, while nearly half of Syrians support relations with the Jewish state.By World Israel News StaffLebanese opposition to normalization with Israel has fallen sharply since the start of the year, while a plurality of Syrians support normalization if the Palestinian issue is resolved, according to new polling by the Council for a Secure America.The surveys, conducted in Arabic by YouGov and released on Tuesday, found that only 19% of Lebanese respondents said they opposed normalization of diplomatic or economic relations with Israel following a long-term resolution to the Palestinian issue.That was down from 31% in January.Support for such normalization in Lebanon rose to 32%, putting supporters ahead of opponents for the first time in the group’s tracking. Another large share of respondents remained undecided or did not give a position.The Lebanese results mark a significant shift in a country where contact with Israel is criminalized and where Hezbollah has long held major military and political power.The poll found that 28% of Lebanese respondents said the country should repeal laws criminalizing dealings with Israel, while 32% said those laws should remain in place. Forty percent did not answer.The survey also found that 40% of Lebanese respondents believed normalization would help the country’s economy, compared with 22% who said it would harm it.A 41% plurality said they considered eventual peace between Israel and Lebanon likely, while 27% said it was unlikely.“For years the conventional wisdom held that Lebanese society was immovably opposed to any relationship with Israel. This data demolishes that assumption,” Jennifer Sutton, executive director of the Council for a Secure America, said.“Opposition to normalization has been cut nearly in half since January, a clear plurality now wants the laws criminalizing contact with Israel off the books, and a majority sees Hezbollah’s arsenal as a threat to Lebanon’s own security. That is not a marginal shift; it is a public laying the groundwork for a different future,” she added.The decline in opposition was also visible among Lebanese Muslim respondents. According to the survey, Muslim opposition to normalization fell from 31% in January to 23% in June, while Muslim support rose from 19% to 28%. Among Christians, support increased from 37% to 43%.The poll also showed broad concern over Hezbollah’s role inside Lebanon. Fifty-nine percent of Lebanese respondents said Hezbollah’s military presence has a negative effect on national security, compared with 11% who said it has a positive effect.Fifty-eight percent said they supported President Joseph Aoun’s efforts to strengthen the Lebanese Army and negotiate Hezbollah’s disarmament so that all armed forces operate under government authority.The Syria poll showed a related but somewhat different pattern. Forty-six percent of Syrians said they would support normalization of diplomatic or economic relations with Israel if the Palestinian issue were resolved on a long-term basis, compared with 19% who said they would oppose it.The survey also found that 57% of Syrians believed peace between Syria and Israel was likely in the future, while 16% said it was unlikely. Fifty-three percent said they would support the new Syrian government signing a security arrangement with Israel aimed at ensuring Syria’s safety and prosperity, compared with 11% opposed.Sutton said the Syrian results reflected a major shift after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and Hezbollah’s role in supporting it during the civil war.“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,” she said. “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. A Syrian public saying such things on the record would have been unthinkable a few years ago.”The survey found that 68% of Syrians described Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria as negative, including 52% who called it “very negative.” Only 6% viewed the group’s involvement positively.Still, Syrian attitudes toward Israel and the US cooled compared with the winter.Support for a security arrangement with Israel fell from 64% in January to 53% in June. Positive views of the US role in Syria’s political and economic affairs fell from 65% to 51%, though they still outnumbered negative views, which stood at 22%.“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 findings stand in contrast to broader regional polling released earlier this year by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, which found strong opposition to recognizing Israel across much of the Arab world during the Gaza war.That survey found 87% opposition across 15 Arab countries, including 89% in Lebanon, underscoring how results can vary sharply depending on question wording, timing and whether normalization is tied to a resolution of the Palestinian issue.The Council for a Secure America surveys were conducted online among adults in Lebanon and Syria. The Lebanon survey included 260 respondents from May 26 to June 1, while the Syria survey included 252 respondents from May 28 to June 5.The post Poll shows declining Lebanese opposition to normalization with Israel appeared first on World Israel News.