The resilience of the Palestinians in the Gaza War is creating new history in the region and the world, and for the first time since the end of World War II, we are witnessing a significant shift in global public opinion. This tremendous transformation now represents a global trend for peace and democracy.
Yasser Saad Al-Din, a writer, researcher, and political lecturer, believes that “material calculations, or even all schools of political and military analysis, or international military, social, or political academies, cannot provide an explanation for what has happened and is happening in Gaza and its repercussions, which have changed the global landscape.”
Parallel to these transformations, the prominent role of public opinion emerges. Amani Atef, Executive Director of the General Administration for Strategic Issues at the Information and Decision Support Center, in her study “The Impact of the Gaza War on Western Public Opinion Trends,” considers that Western public opinion towards the Gaza War undergoes two major turning points. In the initial phase of Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, this response aligned with Western governments’ support for Israel and its right to self-defense against Hamas attacks, especially with Hamas taking hostages of various nationalities, escalating demands for the release of the captives and the elimination of Hamas.
An opinion poll conducted by Reuters in October 2023 showed that 41% of Americans surveyed supported the U.S. backing of Israel in its war with Hamas, compared to 2% who believed in supporting the Palestinians.
Despite the high support for Israel in Western public opinion—especially American—in the early phase of the war, as the intensity of Israeli bombing on Gaza increased, targeting schools and hospitals, causing thousands of civilian casualties, including women and children, along with increased Israeli pressure on the sector’s residents to evacuate, and Western-backed Israeli demands to displace Palestinian civilians, domestic public opinion in several Western countries turned to condemn Israel’s disproportionate attack on the sector, especially under the comprehensive siege imposed on the residents, cutting off internet services, and increased violence from Israeli settlers towards civilians in the West Bank.
In this context, a poll conducted by CBS News between October 16-19, 2023, showed about 56% of participants disapproving of Biden’s handling of the crisis while 70% of Democrats supported sending humanitarian aid to Gaza, compared to 41% of Republicans. Additionally, 53% of Democrats believed the United States should stop sending more weapons to Israel compared to 43% of Republicans.
The late genius Mahdi Elmandjra made a loud call more than four decades ago, emphasizing the need to recognize the dangers of “civilizational wars” and the importance of unifying oppressed nations to face future challenges.
Moroccan thinker and historian Hassan Ouriid believes that the world will not return to how it was before the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” as it “carries the seeds of a new world,” altering the global map between “winners and losers.”
According to Ouriid, “the world is on the brink of a transformation that is difficult to predict,” adding, “the war on Gaza will transform the world. It will no longer be the same, and it will have repercussions like all major transformations, such as the First and Second World Wars.”
In a related context, Wadah Khanfar, chairman of the Al Sharq Forum, said during a speech at the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, that the “Al-Aqsa Flood” would not have achieved all that it has in terms of international momentum were it not for a real change on the international scene, noting that the Western system is beginning to erode, to be replaced by systems still in the process of forming.
