Opinions of Israel, Palestinian Authority decline: Gallup

Americans’ views of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have dropped as Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza approaches its fifth month of fighting, according to a new Gallup poll.

The poll was released Monday and found 58 percent of Americans have “very” or “mostly favorable” opinions of Israel, the lowest rate in more than 20 years. This is a 10-point drop from last year’s rating of Israel.

Positive views of the Palestinian Authority have also worsened and now sit at 26 percent, the lowest since 2015, per Gallup. This is an 8-point drop from last year’s rating.

The Palestinian Authority governs the West Bank, but not Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, while the Palestinian Authority has been discussed as a potential future governing body for Gaza.

Opinions of Israel have doubtlessly been hurt by the intense bombing campaign the country has waged on Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. President Biden has dealt with regular protests over his support for the Israeli government.

Gallup pollsters noted Israel has always received more positive views since it began measuring opinions of the nation in 1989, with an average of 65 percent of Americans having had favorable opinions of it through the years.

The Palestinian Authority, which was established mid-1990s under an Israel-Palestinian peace agreement, has historically received lower ratings, with an average of 19 percent of Americans having a positive view since Gallup’s first poll in 2000.

Fighting between Israel and Palestinian Hamas has raged on for more than four months in Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since early October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel has vowed to eliminate the threat of Hamas following its Oct. 7 surprise assault on the country that killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage.

Israel’s military campaign has largely leveled Gaza and forced nearly 85 percent — 1.9 million — of the enclave’s population from their homes, according to the United Nations.

Gallup’s poll follows a series of other findings in recent months showing the public’s support for Israel declining amid ongoing tensions and violence in Gaza.

The decline in positive opinion is biggest among young adults — ages 18 to 34 — going from 64 percent with a favorable rating in 2023 to 38 percent in Gallup’s latest survey. Middle-aged adults — 35 to 54 years old — had a smaller, 11-point drop while no significant change was observed among adults 55 and older, Gallup noted.

Ratings of the Palestinian Authority have not largely changed among young and older adults, while middle-aged adults dropped by half — 30 percent to 15 percent, Gallup found.

Gallup said the war has not changed Americans’ sympathies towards Israelis and Palestinians by a large margin, with the latest poll finding 51 percent saying they sympathize more with the Israelis and 27 percent more with the Palestinians. This is similar to last year’s findings, when about 54 percent were more sympathetic to Israelis and 31 percent to the Palestinians.

“This suggests that the recent actions by both sides have done little to shift U.S. loyalties, even if overall opinions toward both sides are less positive,” Gallup wrote in its analysis.

The poll’s results are based on telephone interviews conducted Feb. 1-20 with a random sample of 1,016 adults living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The margin of error is 4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.