Most Americans believe countries should recognize Palestinian state - poll - Reuters

 

by Reuters

In a similar Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in February 2024, 53% of respondents agreed that Israel's response had been excessive, and 42% disagreed.

 

A boy waves a Palestinian flag during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Lafayette Square near the White House in Washington, U.S., December 2, 2023. People gathered in solidarity after a temporary cease-fire ended between Israel and Hamas earlier this week.

(photo credit: REUTERS/BONNIE CASH) 

A 58% majority of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognize Palestine as a nation, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, as Israel and Hamas considered a possible ceasefire, hostage deal in the nearly two-year-long war.

Some 33% of respondents did not agree that UN members should recognize a Palestinian state, and 9% did not answer.

The six-day poll, which closed on Monday, was taken within weeks of three countries, close US allies Canada, Britain and France, announcing they intend to recognize the State of Palestine. This ratcheted up pressure on Israel as starvation spreads in Gaza.

The survey was taken amid hopes that Israel and Hamas would agree on a ceasefire to provide a break in the fighting, free some hostages, and ease shipments of humanitarian assistance.

Two officials said on Tuesday that Israel was studying Hamas' response to a potential deal for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

An illustrative photo of Hamas terrorists with hostage demonstrations in the background. (credit: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images, Reuters/Hatem Khaled)

Britain, Canada, Australia, and several of their European allies said last week that the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn Palestinian enclave has reached "unimaginable levels," as aid groups warned that Gazans are on the verge of famine.

Allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza 

The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday that Israel was not letting enough supplies into the Gaza Strip to avert widespread starvation. Israel has denied responsibility for the hunger in Gaza, accusing Hamas of stealing aid shipments, which Hamas denies.

A larger majority of the Reuters/Ipsos poll respondents, 65%, said the US should take action in Gaza to help people facing starvation, with 28% disagreeing. The number disagreeing included 41% of President Donald Trump's Republicans.

Trump and many of his fellow Republicans take an "America First" approach to international relations, backing steep cuts to the country's international food and medical assistance programs in the belief that US funds should assist Americans, not those outside its borders.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 62,000 Palestinians, plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, and displaced most of its population, according to Gaza health authorities.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll also showed that 59% of Americans believe that Israel's military response in Gaza has been excessive. Thirty-three percent of respondents disagreed.

In a similar Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in February 2024, 53% of respondents agreed that Israel's response had been excessive, and 42% disagreed.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos survey, conducted online, gathered responses from 4,446 US adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about two percentage points.

Reuters

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-864772

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