RNW: Lebanon crisis: the view from the Netherlands - by Ferro de JOng

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Lebanon crisis - the view from the Netherlands - by Ferro de JOng

A new survey shows that some 59 percent of the population of the Netherlands wants the Dutch government to take action in Lebanon. The respondents believe the international community has not done enough about the crisis so far. And there's not much support for the warring parties either: only 35 percent can understand Israel's position, and that figure drops to a mere 18 percent in the case of Hizbollah.

A noteworthy aspect of the poll's findings is that Dutch people now appear to be prepared to admit that they really don't understand the situation in the Middle East, with 43 percent actually saying as much in response to the survey. On the other hand, just over half of those questioned claim they do know what actually caused the current conflict in Lebanon. Somewhat surprising figures if one considers that the newspapers have been full of facts and analysis about the situation for the past few weeks.