59% of Americans say US should recognize Palestinian statehood – poll

The vast majority of Democrats and nearly half of Republicans say the United States should recognize unilateral Palestinian statehood, according to a new poll.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

More than half of Americans now say the United States should recognize Palestinian statehood, according to a new poll, after a number of countries backed the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral claim to statehood at the United Nations General Assembly last month.

On Wednesday, Reuters published the results of a survey conducted jointly with the Ipsos polling institute from Oct. 15 to 20.

The poll, which surveyed 4,385 American adults online, found that 59% of Americans say they believe the US should recognize Palestinian statehood.

Just 33% of respondents said they opposed American recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Democrats overwhelmingly back recognition of Palestinian statehood, with 80% of self-described Democrats backing recognition, compared to just 16% who oppose it.

Independents were less likely to support recognition, with 58% endorsing American recognition compared to 28% who oppose it.

A narrow majority (53%) of Republicans say the US should not recognize the Palestinian Authority as a state, while 41% now say the US should grant recognition.

Americans also believe Israel’s response to the October 7, 2023, massacres has been “excessive,” with 60% saying Israel has gone too far, compared to 32% who said it has not.

The survey also polled respondents on whether they believe President Donald Trump deserves significant credit if his administration’s Gaza peace plan succeeds in ending the war between Israel and Hamas.

Just over half (51%) of adults said that the president does deserve credit, compared to 42% who said he does not, and 7% who have no opinion.

More than four-fifths (83%) of Republicans, along with 25% of Democrats and 44% of independents, believe Trump does deserve significant credit, while more than two-thirds (71%) of Democrats, 44% of independents, and 13% of Republicans say Trump does not deserve significant credit.