Palestinians’ approval of US leadership at record low: Gallup

The approval rating in Palestine of U.S. leaders has dropped to a record low, a new survey found.

Just 5 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem approve of U.S. leadership, the lowest on record since 2006, according to a poll conducted by Gallup.

The survey noted Palestinians have consistently been the least approving of U.S. leadership since 2006. Palestinian’s approval rating peaked at 19 percent in 2008.

The low rating comes nearly a year after Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7. Since then, Israel has launched a deadly counteroffensive in Gaza that has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, local health officials say.

The U.S. and the Biden administration have maintained that Israel has a right to defend itself as opposition to Israeli military force against civilians has grown stronger. The U.S. is pushing for a cease-fire, but there appears to be no clear end in sight.

The survey found most Palestinians don’t think the U.S. has done enough to support them. Sixty-nine percent strongly disagree with the statement that the U.S. has made acceptable efforts to safeguard the civilians in Gaza, and 58 percent disagree with the statement the U.S. has made acceptable efforts to deliver Gaza humanitarian aid.

Most Palestinians believe the U.S. can influence Israeli policy and military operations.

According to a similar survey, Israelis’ approval rating of U.S. leadership has also dropped since the initial attack, though a majority of respondents still approve of its ally. Israelis’ approval rating of American leadership climbed to its record high of 81 percent after President Biden visited Israel in mid-October after the attacks. Since then, it’s dropped 18 points to 63 percent.

The surveys were released shortly after Iran launched missiles at Israel in response to strikes that killed the Hezbollah leader. Israel has vowed to respond to the attack, further sparking concerns that an all-out war could ensue, almost exactly a year after the conflict in the Middle East began.

The survey of 1,000 Palestinians was conducted in the West Bank and East Jerusalem from July 7 to Aug. 10. Interviewing was not conducted in the Gaza Strip, and Jewish Israeli-majority areas were not surveyed. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.