A new Statistics Lebanon poll, cited by Mideast Journal, reveals a striking level of support for normalisation within the Christian community, a significant data point as Beirut and Jerusalem engage in unprecedented direct talks.
Lebanon's Christian community has historically maintained a more complex and nuanced relationship with the idea of coexistence with Israel
A new survey by Statistics Lebanon shows that 68.26% of Christian Lebanese respondents support peace with Israel, while 27.22% oppose it, according to findings cited by Mideast Journal.
The poll offers a rare quantitative glimpse into Lebanese public opinion on one of the most sensitive questions in the country's political landscape, at a moment when Beirut and Tel Aviv are engaged in their first direct diplomatic contacts since 1983.
The findings are striking, though not entirely surprising. Lebanon's Christian community has historically maintained a more complex and nuanced relationship with the idea of coexistence with Israel than other segments of Lebanese society.
The community bears the memory of the South Lebanon Army, a predominantly Christian militia that cooperated with Israel during the civil war era, as well as the broader legacy of the 1943 National Pact, which sought to balance Lebanon's diverse confessional interests.
The survey comes at a pivotal moment. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has already called for direct negotiations with Israel, provoking a fierce backlash from Hezbollah, whose leader Naïm Kassem accused the government of destabilising Lebanon. Aoun's response was pointed: "Betrayal is dragging your country into war for foreign interests."
The Statistics Lebanon poll suggests that within the Christian community at least, the Lebanese president's diplomatic opening may find considerable popular support, a political resource he may need as negotiations with Israel move closer to becoming a formal
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