Most Americans believe countries should recognize Palestinian state: poll

WASHINGTON: A 58 percent 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 truce in the nearly two-year-long Gaza 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, found a pronounced partisan divide on the issue, with 78% of Democrats supporting the idea, far more than the 41% of President Donald Trump’s Republicans who agreed.

A narrow 53% majority of Republicans did not agree that all UN member nations should recognize a Palestinian state.

Israel has long counted on the US, its most powerful ally, for billions of dollars a year in military aid and international diplomatic support. An erosion of US public support would be a worrisome sign for Israel as it faces not only Hamas militants in Gaza but unresolved conflict with Iran, its regional arch-foe.

A widely condemned Israeli settlement plan that would cut across occupied West Bank land which the Palestinians seek for a state

received final approval on Wednesday, according to an Israeli government statement.

The poll was taken within weeks of three countries, close US allies Canada, Britain and France, announcing they intend to recognize a Palestinian state. 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 into the Gaza Strip.

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.

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

Some 65% of the Reuters/Ipsos poll respondents said the US should take action in Gaza to help people facing starvation, with 28% disagreeing. The number disagreeing included 41% of Republicans.