Skepticism is especially pervasive in the Palestinian territories.  In a recent Pew Research Center poll, 61% of Palestinians said they did not believe a way can be found for Israel and an independent Palestinian state to coexist peacefully. In fact, a 45%-plurality said the best way to achieve statehood is through armed struggle. Just 15% think non-violent resistance is the best strategy. And there is little faith in negotiations – only 15% believe negotiations are the best path to statehood.

Moreover, Palestinians feel somewhat abandoned by other nations, especially other Arab nations, in their efforts to achieve statehood. Three-in-four Palestinians say that other Arab countries are doing too little to help with that goal, and many in neighboring Arab nations agree. Most Tunisians and roughly half of Egyptians say their countries are not doing enough to promote Palestinian statehood, although this view is somewhat less common in Jordan and Lebanon.

On the other side, Israelis are more optimistic about the chances for a two-state solution – 50% believe Israel can coexist beside a Palestinian state, while 38% disagree. But in the short-run, few anticipate progress. A recent Tel Aviv University poll found that seven-in-ten Israelis rate the likelihood of restarting negotiations with the Palestinians as moderately or very low. The same poll found that kick-starting negotiations is not at the top of the list of Israeli concerns – only 10% suggest it should be the government’s top priority. Instead, Israelis are worried about economic issues and the threat from Iran.

Still, there is one hopeful sign for Kerry as he returns to the region this week: many on both sides of the conflict want the U.S. to be more engaged. Roughly half of Israelis (49%) want the Obama administration to play a larger role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And even though the U.S. is widely unpopular among Palestinians (they hold a nearly-unanimous view that U.S. policies favor Israel), a 41%-plurality believes the Obama administration should play a larger role; just 26% want a smaller role.  So, despite their skepticism about the peace process and their reservations about the U.S., Kerry may find that many Palestinians nonetheless welcome his efforts.

A Pew Research survey conducted earlier this spring found that 68% of Turks opposed Western countries sending weapons and other supplies to anti-government rebels in Syria — the second-highest level of opposition among the six predominantly Muslim countries surveyed in the region.

Similarly high majorities in Turkey opposed aid to the rebels by Arab nations (66%) and their own country (65%).

Erdogan has pressured the Obama administration to provide military aid to the rebels seeking to oust Syrian president Bashar al-Assad; hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees have poured into Turkey, and Erdogan’s government has blamed Assad’s regime for car bombings that killed 46 people last week in a Turkish border town.

In the Pew Research survey, which was conducted before those blasts, 62% of Turks said they were “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the violence in Syria spreading to their country.

The Turks’ opposition to outside intervention in the Syrian conflict doesn’t, however, mean they support Assad. Of Turks surveyed, 72% said they had an unfavorable opinion of the Syrian leader (including 48% with a “very unfavorable” view); only 8% viewed Assad favorably.

As Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with President Obama today, his calls for more Western aid to Syrian rebels put him at odds with Turkish public opinion.

A Pew Research survey conducted earlier this spring found that 68% of Turks opposed Western countries sending weapons and other supplies to anti-government rebels in Syria — the second-highest level of opposition among the six predominantly Muslim countries surveyed in the region.

Similarly high majorities in Turkey opposed aid to the rebels by Arab nations (66%) and their own country (65%).

Erdogan has pressured the Obama administration to provide military aid to the rebels seeking to oust Syrian president Bashar al-Assad; hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees have poured into Turkey, and Erdogan’s government has blamed Assad’s regime for car bombings that killed 46 people last week in a Turkish border town.

In the Pew Research survey, which was conducted before those blasts, 62% of Turks said they were “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the violence in Syria spreading to their country.

The Turks’ opposition to outside intervention in the Syrian conflict doesn’t, however, mean they support Assad. Of Turks surveyed, 72% said they had an unfavorable opinion of the Syrian leader (including 48% with a “very unfavorable” view); only 8% viewed Assad favorably.

Drew DeSilver is senior writer at the Pew Research Center.

Two years after the Arab Spring, there continues to be unrest in the Middle East and the U.S. public has become more skeptical about the political changes that have occurred. Our October 2012 survey found nearly six-in-10  Americans (57%) do not believe the changes in the Middle East will lead to lasting improvements for people living in the affected countries, up sharply from 43% in April 2011.  A majority of the U.S. public also puts the priority on having stable governments in  the region, even if that means less democracy.

The public would like less U.S. involvement in Middle East leadership changes.

As noted in other surveys, the public has become focused on domestic issues, particularly the economy, and supports less U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Overall, 63% of Americans say they want the U.S. less involved in Middle East leadership changes while 23% say they U.S. should be more involved, according to an October 2012 survey.

A majority says the U.S. does not have a responsibility to act in Syria.

As fighting in Syria continues between government forces and anti-government groups, the public continues to say that the U.S. does not have a responsibility to do something about the fighting there. And there continues to be substantial opposition to sending arms to anti-government forces in Syria.

The public expresses consistent support for Israel.

For decades, the public has sympathized with Israel over the Palestinians and that remains the case today. A March survey found about half the public sympathizes more with Israel, compared with just 12% who say they sympathize more with the Palestinians; Almost a quarter (23%) do not offer an opinion while 12% say they sympathize with neither side. Attitudes on this question haven’t changed much in the past six years.

Read more Pew Research findings on U.S.-Middle East relations.

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 According to our “Trends in American Values” report released in June 2012, 83% agree that “we should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems here at home.” That’s up 10 points since 2002, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, and the highest percentage expressing this view since 1994. At the same time, the percentage agreeing that “it’s best for the future of our country to be active in world affairs” has fallen from 90% to 83% since 2009, while the percentage disagreeing doubled from 7% to 14%.

The public is divided on the use of military strength.

According to our September 2012 survey, four-in-ten Americans believe the U.S. relies on military strength too much to achieve its foreign policy goals, and about the same number (44%) say their country relies on its military strength about the right amount. Only 10% say the U.S. relies on military might too little.

Most think the U.S. should be less involved in Middle East leadership changes.

A plurality of Americans would support taking military action against Syria if it is confirmed that it used chemical weapons against anti-government groups.

However, absent the concern about use of chemical weapons, Americans surveyed in Dec. 2012 said by a 63% to 27% margin that the U.S. did not have a responsibility to do something about Syria. A survey conducted in early March that did not include a question on chemical weapons found that 64% of Americans were against arming the rebels.

Americans largely approve of the use of drones to target extremists, unlike most other nations surveyed. 

Americans largely support the use of drones to target extremists in countries like Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.  A survey released February of this year found 56% of the U.S. public continues to support the drone program and 26% say they disapprove. Support for drone attacks crosses party lines: 68% of Republicans and 58% of Democrats say they support the strikes.

In the rest of the world, there has been strong opposition to American drone strikes. In 17 of 20 countries surveyed last spring, more than half disapproved of the U.S. conducting drone attacks. The policy was particularly unpopular in majority-Muslim nations, but it also faced disapproval in Europe and other regions as well.

 Overall, defending the nation from terrorism has remained a “top priority” for the U.S. public in recent years, although it has slipped from the top spot since 2002. In 2013, 71% of the public said it was a top priority for Congress and the president, behind strengthening the nation’s economy (84%) and improving the job situation (79%) and about the same as reducing the deficit (72%). (Explore  our interactive data visual on the public’s top priorities 2002-2013.)

Americans continue to support a tough stance to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Our February 2012 report found strong public support for taking tough measures – including the possible use of military force – to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) said it is more important to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, even if it means taking military action. Just 30% say it is more important to avoid a military conflict with Iran, even if it means that country develops nuclear weapons. These opinions are little changed from October 2009.

Iran and China are at the top of the public’s list of countries that pose the greatest danger to the United States. In a spring 2012 survey, 26% named China as the country that represents the greatest danger to the United States; Iran received the second-most mentions at 16%. North Korea, at 13%, was third.

In the same survey examining attitudes about global threats, 70% said Iran’s nuclear program poses a major threat to the well-being of the United States.

A majority of Americans want troops out of Afghanistan quickly.

Our surveys have found growing support since 2010 for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan “as soon as possible.” In October 2012, six-in-ten said they want the troops removed as soon as possible, up from just 40 percent in 2010. 

Read more Pew Research reports on Foreign Policy.

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Seven-in-ten Americans see Iran’s nuclear program as a major threat to the well-being of the U.S., putting it on a par with perceived dangers posed by Islamic extremist groups and North Korea’s nuclear program, according to our survey conducted Apr. 30-May 13, 2012.

A separate survey was done of American foreign affairs experts. The public’s concern about the nuclear threat posed by Iran was shared by retired military officers and business and trade leaders, but less so by government officials, scholars and members of the news media.

A majority of Americans favored taking a hard line with Iran over its nuclear program, saying that was more important than avoiding a military conflict, according to an Oct. 2012 survey.

There are notable partisan and ideological differences on this issue. Eight-in-ten Republicans favor the use of force if necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons compared to 62% of Democrats and 59% of independents. Among conservative Republicans, 87% say it is more important to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons even if it means taking military action compared to 53% of liberal Democrats.

Globally, the U.S. public is the strongest supporter of using military force to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons according to a March-April 2012 survey.

Among those who said they opposed Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, Americans are the most willing to take military action if necessary while the British and Germans lean toward the use of force. The French are divided on the question, and the Russians and Chinese show no support for a military strike and lean toward accepting a nuclear Iran. These countries constitute the so-called “P5+1″ group — the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany — who have engaged in talks with Iran over its nuclear program.

There is more support around the world for using economic sanctions as the means to dissuade Iran from continuing its efforts to build a nuclear arsenal.

Among those who oppose Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, Americans and citizens of their European negotiating partners in the talks with Iran strongly support tougher international economic measures against Tehran to try to stop its nuclear program. However, the Chinese and Russians do not agree with their negotiating counterparts on economic sanctions. Just 46% of Russians who oppose the Iranian nuclear program back new sanctions, down from 67% in 2010. In China, 38% favor more sanctions, a drop of 20 points in the last two years.

Overall opinions of Iran are largely negative across much of the world, according to our spring 2012 survey.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose last term ends this year, received largely negative views in most of the predominantly Muslim nations we surveyed.

Pakistan is a major exception among these nations, with about half (47%) expressing a favorable opinion of Ahmadinejad, while just 6% see him unfavorably (47% do not offer an opinion). In Lebanon, opinions of the Iranian leader split along religious lines with 95% of Shia seeing him favorably and 92% of Sunnis regarding him unfavorably.
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