According to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, a 58% majority of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognize Palestine as a nation. The poll comes as Israel and Hamas consider a potential truce in the nearly two-year-long war in Gaza. About 33% of respondents disagreed that UN members should recognize a Palestinian state, while 9% did not answer.
The six-day poll, which concluded on Monday, revealed a clear partisan divide on the issue. A significant 78% of Democrats supported the idea, a much higher figure than the 41% of President Donald Trump’s Republicans who agreed. A narrow 53% majority of Republicans disagreed that all UN member nations should recognize a Palestinian state.
Israel has long relied on the US, its most powerful ally, for billions of dollars in annual military aid and diplomatic support. A decline in US public support would be a worrying sign for Israel, which is not only facing Hamas militants in Gaza but also an unresolved conflict with Iran, its regional arch-foe. According to an Israeli government statement, a widely condemned Israeli settlement plan that would cut across occupied West Bank land—which Palestinians seek for their state—received final approval on Wednesday.
The survey was conducted just weeks after three close US allies—Canada, Britain, and France—announced their intent to recognize a Palestinian state. This move has increased pressure on Israel as starvation spreads in Gaza. The poll also took place amidst hopes that Israel and Hamas would agree to a ceasefire to pause the fighting, free some hostages, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Last week, Britain, Canada, Australia, and several European allies stated that the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn Palestinian enclave has reached “unimaginable levels,” with aid groups warning that Gazans are on the verge of famine. The UN human rights office said on Tuesday that Israel was not allowing enough supplies into the Gaza Strip to prevent widespread starvation. Israel has denied responsibility for the hunger in Gaza, accusing Hamas of stealing aid shipments, a claim that Hamas denies.
Support for Fighting Starvation
About 65% of the Reuters/Ipsos poll respondents said the US should take action in Gaza to help people facing starvation, with 28% disagreeing. The group that disagreed included 41% of Republicans. Trump and many of his Republican colleagues favor an “America First” approach to international relations, supporting sharp cuts to the country’s international food and medical assistance programs based on the belief that US funds should help 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. Since then, Israel’s offensive has 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 revealed that 59% of Americans believe Israel’s military response in Gaza has been excessive, while 33% of respondents disagreed. In a similar Reuters/Ipsos poll from February 2024, 53% of respondents thought Israel’s response was excessive, and 42% disagreed.
Officials at the Israeli embassy in Washington and the mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the poll. The latest Reuters/Ipsos survey, conducted online, gathered responses from 4,446 US adults nationwide and has a margin of error of approximately 2 percentage points.
