Nearly one-third of Americans say Israel has gone too far in Gaza: Poll
Nearly one-third of Americans said that Israel’s military action in its war against militant group Hamas has gone too far in Gaza, a new poll found.
The new Chicago Council on Global Affairs-Ipsos survey released last week found that 32 percent of respondents said Israel has gone too far in Gaza and its military actions are not justified. This is slightly more than the 27 percent who said Israel’s actions are justified in defending its interests, according to the poll.
Overall, 40 percent said they did not know enough about the issue to give an opinion.
Views were largely split along party lines, with 51 of Democrats saying Israel has gone too far and just 11 percent of Republicans saying the same. Fifty-three percent of Republicans said Israel’s actions were justified, while 27 percent of Democrats said so.
The poll also found that 26 percent of Americans said Israel should reduce military aid to Israel until the country ends its war with Hamas, including 38 percent of Democrats and 10 percent of Republicans. Twenty three percent of respondents — including 49 percent of Republicans — said the U.S. should let Israel pursue whatever policy it thinks is best without U.S. pressure.
Another 14 percent said the U.S. should exert diplomatic pressure on Israel without reducing military aid.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans also had negative views of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with 63 percent saying they had an unfavorable view and 30 percent saying they had a favorable view.
The poll comes as President Biden has amped up his criticism of Netanyahu in recent days, especially in the wake of an Israeli airstrike that killed seven international aid workers. He urged the prime minister last week to work toward a cease-fire deal that would release the remaining hostages in Gaza, suggesting that U.S. policy on the war will depend on Israel’s ability to better protect civilians and humanitarian workers.
The poll was conducted March 8-11 among 1,024 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.