Kabul

For the crowd gathered for a second day of festivities at one of the Afghan capital's garish wedding halls this afternoon there was widespread cynicism at the news of Barack Obama's Nobel peace prize.

"I don't know how he can get this prize," said Najeeb, a 30-year-old shopkeeper attending a friend's wedding party. "Maybe it's been awarded for all the houses they are bombing, or perhaps it's for all his soldiers that are dying in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Next to him a local staff member of a western NGO called Elyas wondered whether Obama will ever be able to bring peace to Afghanistan. "Obama and his favourite president [Karzai] haven't been able to do anything here. We used to be able to drive to Kunduz and Mazar-i-Sharif [two northern cities considered safe until recently] but now we can't because fighters are coming to the roads and looting people."

But a tribal elder from western Kabul called Shafi said Obama should be given a chance as he reviews his Afghanistan strategy. "If someone spent 20 years doing nothing for peace he shouldn't get the Nobel prize ‑ but if he does good things for peace even if it is just for three or four months then I am happy. He should send more troops to Afghanistan. If we don't have support of the world community we won't have one hour of peace, again it will be the fighting, civil war and misfortune."

Jon Boone

Jerusalem

Israelis and Palestinians alike said they were surprised by the news of Obama's win. Palestinians, in particular, spoke of their disappointment that Obama had not taken concrete steps towards ending the Israeli occupation or creating an independent Palestinian state.

"I think he doesn't deserve the prize because he hasn't done anything," said Mohaned Munir, 20. Born in Jerusalem, he was studying computing at Bethlehem University. "We want him to be more serious in his steps towards the Palestinians if he is going to make real peace here."

Eyad Bannoura, 50, a Christian Palestinian decorator from Bethlehem, agreed. "He doesn't deserve it. He's not with us. He says he supports us, but nothing has changed. We just want peace, to live here in two states, one for us, one for the Jews. But Obama is like all the leaders in the past: they all say the same thing and nothing happens." Bannoura, who was walking through a park in west Jerusalem, is one of the few Palestinians lucky enough to have a work permit to enter Israel.

Dina Heller, a British-born Israeli, said she was still hoping Obama would bring change. "I think maybe this is a way to try and influence him to change things a bit, but until now things haven't really changed," she said. "As for peace here, I hope for it but I don't see it in the near future. People have tried and tried for many years and it always seems to be a quagmire."

However, Netanel Yackobi, 31, felt Obama's administration had been unfairly pressuring Israel, particularly over settlements. "I think we should do what is good for us, not what he tells us to do," he said. "This is our home and we don't need to leave our home. If somebody wants to live here, like the Arabs, they can live here. But if they want a country of their own they can go to Iraq or Jordan ‑ there's lots of space there."

Yackobi said he was worried the prize might give Obama more confidence in his Middle East diplomacy and that might mean more pressure on Israel. "It gives him more power," he said. "If he gets the prize just for what he said he wants, it is like telling him he's right and he should go ahead and do it."

Rory McCarthy

Baghdad

Iraqis reacted warmly to President Obama's award, although some said he had yet to deliver any tangible results.

Harith Ismail, a 39-year-old businessman from central Baghdad, said: "Since he became president, he has made serious efforts to bring peace to the world. He has used dialogue, he has dealt with Iran in constructive ways and he has differentiated himself from Bush. I believe he wants the Middle East to be safe and free."

Obama won particular praise for sticking to George Bush's pledge to withdraw US troops from Iraqi cities by 30 June.

Ali Kadier, 20, an engineering student at Baghdad University, said: "By withdrawing the troops he won the trust of the Iraqi people and other Muslim countries. We feel that his presidency is a time of peace. Look at the way he is dealing with Muslims and Arab countries. His last speech in Cairo was full of respect to the Muslim world. He has a respectable style and he deserves the Nobel prize."

Sweetmaker Aziz Ahmed, 45, from the inner-city suburb of Karrada, however, remained sceptical: "I have only heard his speech [in Cairo]. I have seen nothing apart from that, just promises. I don't think it's enough, yet. But if he completes the withdrawal of the Americans and we completely get rid of their presence in the Middle East, then all Iraqis will thank Obama and trust America again. Then he will deserve not only the Nobel prize, but every other peace accolade the world has to offer. If he really wants to work for peace, tell him to continue working for it in Iraq."

Qais Munther, a 33-year-old doctor from the Baghdad suburb of Mansour, said Obama's short time as leadership had caused him to reassess his antipathy towards America. "Obama has changed my view of US presidents. It is the first time a suitable man in a suitable place seriously deserved the Nobel award. I'm expecting him to fulfill his promises and that will change the views that the Muslim world now holds about America."

Martin Chulov and Enas Ibrahim