Пятьдесят один процент ливанцев считают, что вооруженное присутствие Хезболлы угрожает безопасности страны

Hezbollah’s continued armed presence is harming Lebanon’s security, 51% of Lebanese participants answered in a YouGov survey published last month by the Council for a Secure America. The latest survey, conducted in three waves to track changes in public opinion, collected responses from 260 Lebanese civilians in Arabic in May. Earlier surveys were conducted among 253 people in October and 252 individuals in January. The survey has a margin of error of five percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Only 11% of the respondents said they believed Hezbollah’s armed presence improved Lebanon’s security, with many declining to answer the question. Of the respondents, 58% said they supported efforts by Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun to strengthen the Lebanese Army and negotiate the disarmament of Hezbollah, so that all armed forces in Lebanon operate under the Government’s authority, though the support fell slightly from January, when 63% said the same. Only 10% said they were not supportive of Aoun’s efforts. Predicting what will come of the relationship between Jerusalem and Beirut, 41% said it was likely there would be peace, though only 32% said they would support normalizing with Israel after a long-term resolution is made for the issue of “Palestine,” and 27% predicted peace would be unlikely, while only 19% said they wouldn’t support normalizing with Israel even if the issue of “Palestine” was resolved. Four in ten Lebanese respondents predict eventual peace with Israel Among Christians, 43% supported normalization in contrast to 28% of the Muslims, though both demographic groups seem to have warmed to the idea since January. In the January survey, only 19% of Muslims and 37% of Christians were in support of the theoretical development. Though peace and normalization remain a divisive issue, 40% said they t thought that normalized ties with Israel would help the Lebanese economy and only 22% said they thought it would hurt it. Notably, those aged over 45 were more likely to think normalization would promote economic growth and stability (47% compared to 29% of younger respondents). Despite a significant portion believing a peace agreement will be an eventuality, more respondents said they thought Lebanon should keep laws that criminalize dealings with Israel. 32% said the laws should be kept, 28% repealed, and 40% said they didn’t want to answer.