A new poll by the American Pew Research Center reveals that 53% of the American public holds a negative view of Israel. This represents an 11% increase over the past three years since the institute's previous survey.
Additionally, significant percentages of Americans do not believe that the United States will ultimately take responsibility for Gaza and advance the migration plan, according to the same Pew Research Center survey. Meanwhile, there are significant disagreements regarding whether President Donald Trump favors Israel or acts in a balanced manner in the conflict.
The Pew Research Center asked respondents about their position on the American plan to take control of Gaza and promote a migration plan. Of those surveyed, 38% think it is unlikely that Trump will continue with this policy, and 26% indicated "somewhat likely," meaning they are somewhere in the middle. Only 20% answered that it is very likely, and 16% said they were not sure.
The implication, according to the Pew Research Center, is that six out of ten Americans (62%) oppose US control of Gaza, including 49% who strongly oppose the plan. Surprisingly, Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to say there is no chance for the plan – 43% compared to 34%. At the same time, 27% of Republicans prefer the plan compared to only 5% of Democrats. 80% of Democrats responded that they oppose the move.
In the survey, researchers also examined the question of how Trump is handling relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Only 3% of Americans believe that Palestinians receive preferential treatment, but there are disagreements about whether Trump is acting in a balanced way. 31% believed that Trump favors the Israeli side compared to 29% who believe Trump is striking the right balance.
For comparison, a survey conducted last July found that 21% of Americans thought President Joe Biden favored Israelis over Palestinians, compared to 20% who thought the then-president favored Palestinians over Americans. 18% responded in this survey that he found the right balance, and 40% said they were not sure.
The division by party, in this case, is clear. 51% of Republicans believe Trump is finding the right balance. In contrast, 50% of Democrats believe the American president favors Israelis too much.
