The United States was just behind Israel in the global danger league, in joint second place with North Korea (news - web sites) and Iran, according to the "Eurobarometer" poll requested by the European Commission (news - web sites).

The results were part of a survey last month on Europeans' attitudes in the aftermath of the Iraq (news - web sites) war, which also found that more than two-thirds of EU citizens think that the US-led war was wrong.

The Israeli embassy in Brussels voiced outrage at the findings, which said that 59 percent of Europeans see Israel as a threat to world peace.

"Europeans seem blind to Israeli victims and suffering. Instead, they have put the Jewish state below the level of the worst pariah state and terror organizations," it said in a statement.

"We are not only sad but outraged. Not at European citizens, but at those who are responsible for forming public opinion," the embassy added.

"Israel's desperate struggle for peace and security for its people has been distorted beyond recognition in often one-sided and emotionally charged media coverage."

The poll had already prompted angry reactions after details were leaked by the Spanish daily El Pais last week.

The Israeli ambassador to Italy -- which currently holds the EU presidency -- told the daily Il Messagero Monday that the poll could have significant diplomatic consequences.

"It seems to me that the only aim of this poll was to denigrate Israel at a very delicate time, and I think it will it much more difficult for Europe to fulfill its ambition to play a part in the peace process," said Ehud Gol.

The EU's Italian presidency tried to play down the results, insisting they did not reflect the official EU position.

"The result of the survey, based on an ambiguous question, does not reflect the position of the European Union which has been voiced on numerous occasions," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in a statement.

"The EU is all the more annoyed since it is fully aware that the Israeli population is hit hard by terrorism," it said, criticising the "false signal" that the survey sent out.

According to the Eurobarometer poll, based on interviews with 500 people in each of the 15 EU states, some 59 percent of Europeans replied "yes" when asked whether or not Israel presents a threat to peace in the world.

A total of 53 percent said Iran, North Korea and the United States pose a threat, followed by 52 percent for Iraq, 50 percent for Afghanistan (news - web sites) and 48 percent for Pakistan.

Countries lower down the list included Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, China, India, Russia and Somalia. The EU itself was described as a threat by eight percent of respondents.

The EU survey was presented in the form of a list of 15 countries, from which some 7,515 respondents were asked to say which ones they thought pose a threat to world peace.

Commission spokesman Gerassimos Thomas was repeatedly asked why the Palestinian territories were not included, while for example the survey asked Europeans about the threat from Somalia. "It is not a country," he replied when pressed over the Palestinians.

The European Commission said Israel's anger was "legitimate" but refused to get drawn into whether the poll findings were valid.

"I think the (Israeli) reaction was a very legitimate reaction," the spokesman for the EU's executive arm told reporters.

But he added: "It is not our task to interpret each and every survey. We don't place excessive emphasis on one poll result."

Commission President Romano Prodi, visiting New York, said he was concerned at the findings and acknowledged they may indicate deeper anti-Semitic prejudice in Europe.

Israel said the survey, in which 59 percent of those polled said the country was a menace, revealed a "hidden agenda" by those asking the question -- the EU executive.

"They have put the Jewish state below the level of the worst pariah states and terror organizations," Israel's mission to the EU said in a statement.

"We are not only sad but outraged. Not at European citizens but at those who are responsible for forming public opinion."

It said the poll reflected the impact of distorted media coverage of the Middle East conflict and served to "promote a hidden agenda of those who draft the questions in a way that will suit their political ends."

Prodi stressed that the Eurobarometer survey did not reflect the views or policy of the European Commission.

"They point to the continued existence of a bias that must be condemned out of hand. To the extent that this may indicate a deeper, more general prejudice against the Jewish world, our repugnance is even more radical," he declared.

A Commission spokesman earlier played down the result as just one finding among many in a survey on Iraq and world peace.

"It is not our role or our policy to interpret each opinion poll or to base our policy on it," spokesman Gerassimos Thomas told the Commission's daily news briefing.

The question did not mention the Palestinians because it only referred to states, he said.

He insisted the questions were set by low-level officials, not the Commission's political leaders or external relations directorate.

It was one of 60 surveys the Commission carries out every year seeking the views of the EU's 375 million citizens on everything from the euro to EU enlargement.

UNITED STATES SECOND

Around 500 people in each EU country were asked whether they considered 14 listed countries as threats to world peace.

Close behind Israel came the United States, Iran and North Korea, each with 53 percent. Respondents were allowed to pick more than one country.

Fifty-two percent said Iraq was a threat, 50 percent said Afghanistan (news - web sites) was. The other countries -- Pakistan, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, China, India, Russia and Somalia -- scored less than 50 percent.

Israel's minister for diaspora affairs and Jerusalem, Natan Sharansky, said the survey showed that "behind the 'political' criticism of Israel lies nothing other than pure anti-Semitism."

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said the poll was "conducted in an irresponsible manner and distorts reality," but rejected assertions it proved European anti-Semitism.

"There's no comparing the amount of media exposure Israel gets in Europe in comparison to Iran or North Korea. The images broadcast from here have an impact but we should not get excited about it," Haaretz daily quoted Shalom as saying.

Italy, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said the findings were due to a "leading question" and did not reflect the EU's position.

"Foreign Minister Franco Frattini...expresses surprise and disappointment at the distorted message that emerges from the EU poll," a statement issued by his ministry said.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a U.S.-based Jewish rights group, said the survey "shows that anti-Semitism is deeply embedded within European society" and Israel should draw the only conclusion possible and exclude the EU and its members from any future Middle East peace process. (Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Jerusalem and Shasta Darlington in Rome)