The Council for a Secure America commissioned a YouGov survey in Syria that shows that attitudes in the country toward Israel are warming since Mohammed al-Sharaah took the reins of government following the fall of the Assad regime.

The poll breaks down attitudes toward Israel as follows:

• Is peace with Israel likely? 59 percent said yes; 14 percent said no.
• Do you support a security arrangement with Israel? 64 percent yes, 8 percent no.
• Do you support normalization with Israel once the Gaza issue is resolved? 47 percent yes, 13 percent no.

The rejection of Hezbollah was just as surprisingly overwhelming. Seventy percent viewed Hezbollah’s involvement with Israel as negative and 52 percent said Hezbollah damages Syria’s security, while only 11 percent said Hezbollah has a positive impact.

Hezbollah did not fare much better in Lebanon in a YouGov poll conducted last month. While only 40 percent said peace with Israel is likely and only 25 percent supported normalization with Israel, 63 percent want to see Hezbollah disarmed, with only 9 percent opposing.

Jennifer Sutton, executive director of the Council for a Secure America, said in an interview, “Council for a Secure America polls demonstrate that Syrian and Lebanese public opinion continues to gravitate away from Hezbollah.”

“While Israeli normalization is not yet on the horizon, we are seeing significant shifts in Syria, with a majority believing that eventual peace with Israel is possible,” she added. These shifts “provide an opportunity for the U.S. to reinforce traditional geopolitical partners, weaken proxy forces, promote peace and stability, and discourage external entities from destabilizing the region.”