American Support

New Poll Shows American Support For Israel At Near-Record High

2/24/2010 1:47 PM ET

(RTTNews) - A new Gallup poll released Wednesday showed that 63% of Americans say their sympathies in the Middle East situation lie more with the Israelis than with the Palestinians, a near record high for U.S. support for Israel.

The poll, which surveyed 1,025 adults February 1 - 3, also showed that only 15% said their sympathies lie with the Palestinians. Another 23% either support both sides equally or don't support either side at all.

The percent favoring Israel is the highest since 1991, when 64% said they supported Israel shortly after it was hit by Iraqi Scud missiles during the Gulf War. Support for the Palestinians remained around the levels it has been at since 1988.

Support for Israel among Republicans has been steadily rising since 2001, when 60% said they favored Israel compared to the 85% who said they favor Israel in the latest poll.
Among Democrats, support is down slightly from 2001 levels; 51% favored Israel in 2001 compared to 48% in the latest poll. Among Independents, support for Israel jumped from 42% in 2001 to 60% in the latest poll.

In addition, the poll found that 67% of those surveyed favor Israeli authority in the region compared to just 20% who favor Palestinian authority.

Only 30% of respondents felt that there would come a time when the Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace, the second-lowest percentage in the last 13 years.

by RTT Staff Writer

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