Less than half of Americans sympathetic towards Israel, poll finds

Majority of US adults support two-state solution to Palestinian-Israeli conflict

Palestinian supporters march in Times Square in response to U. S. President Donald Trump's remarks last week on his plans for the U. S. to "own" the Gaza Strip in New York. EPA

Less than half of the people in the US are sympathetic towards Israel, a new poll has shown, while support for Palestinians has grown.

About 46 per cent of Americans expressed support for Israel in a recent Gallup poll, a six percentage point drop from last year and the lowest in 25 years of polling by the company. At the same time, 33 per cent of adults say they sympathise with Palestinians, up six percentage points from last year, and the highest reading by two points.

The poll was conducted in the weeks after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began. The ceasefire, still in its first stage, has involved the release of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian detainees held in Israeli jails.

It also took place a day before the Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu's February visit to Washington, which US President Donald Trump used to outline his plans to take over Gaza, displace its roughly two million residents and develop it into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

The Gallup poll also found that 40 per cent of Americans approve of Mr Trump's approach to the Israel-Gaza war. The ceasefire was achieved a day before Mr Trump took office, and many credit him and his team with pushing the deal over the line.

"Partisans are sharply divided in their job ratings of Trump, and they also hold different views of Israel and the Palestinian territories," a Gallup report on the survey said. "Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to view Israel favourably (83 per cent to 33 per cent, respectively), while Democrats view the Palestinian territories more favourably than Republicans do (45 per cent to 18 per cent)."

The US views Israel as its strongest ally in the Middle East, and it has sent billions of dollars in military aid to the country. But the Gaza war has precipitated unprecedented pro-Palestinian protests in the country, especially at universities, with a wave of demonstrations sweeping campuses across the US last year.

The majority of Americans - 55 per cent - also support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, though Democrats and Independents are more likely to favour an independent state of Palestine.

"Americans’ sympathies with the Israelis continue to decline, largely because of Democrats’ dwindling support for the Israelis in the long-standing conflict with the Palestinians. Republicans remain overwhelmingly sympathetic toward the Israelis," Gallup said.