Americans now sympathize with Palestinians more than Israelis: Gallup poll

NEW YORK: For the first time since Gallup began tracking public opinion, more Americans express sympathy for Palestinians than for Israelis, according to a poll released Friday, following Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

The shift ends more than two decades of Americans favouring Israel by a significant margin. The survey found that 41 percent of Americans sympathize more with Palestinians, while 36 percent side with Israel, with the remainder undecided or expressing support for both or neither.

This is the first instance since Gallup started asking the question over 20 years ago that Israel does not lead in public sympathies. It also represents a sharp reversal from just a year ago, when Israel held a 46–33 percent advantage.

Among independents, support leaned toward Palestinians by 11 percentage points.

Republicans remain largely supportive of Israel, with 70 percent siding with Israel, although this represents a 10-point decline over the past decade.

Democratic views of Israel have grown increasingly negative since a decade ago, when Benjamin Netanyahu openly broke with then US President Barack Obama over Iran diplomacy.

Israel has moved sharply to the right since then, and some Democratic voters criticised former President Joe Biden for not doing more to restrain Israel during its war on Gaza after October 7, 2023.

In the latest poll, 65 percent of Democrats sympathized with Palestinians, compared to 17 percent for Israel.

Gallup surveyed 1,001 US adults by telephone from February 2 to 16.