An overwhelming percentage of Republicans feel more sympathetic toward Israelis than they do Palestinians amid the latest escalation between the two sides, a national poll found.
Only 3% of Republican respondents feel more sympathetic toward Palestinians, while 51% said they feel that way about Israelis, according to a Morning Consult poll released Wednesday. Nineteen percent of Republican respondents said they feel equally bad for both sides of the conflict, while 27% said they either don’t know or don’t have an opinion.
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Thirty-six percent of Democratic respondents said they feel sympathetic toward both sides. More Democrats sympathize with Palestinians than they do Israelis — 18% compared to 12%.
The partisan divide in the poll is reflected on Capitol Hill as Republicans have voiced their support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, a West Bank–based, U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.
The fighting has exposed a divide in the Democratic Party as members of the caucus have accused Israel of war crimes and of operating an apartheid state.
The poll also showed a divide in sympathies based on age. Respondents 65 years or older said they feel more sympathetic toward Israelis, and that percentage dropped for each age group. Thirty-three percent of respondents between 45 and 64 said they feel worse for Israelis, while 20% of those aged 35 to 44 and 15% of those between 18 and 34 felt that way.
The survey was conducted between May 14 and May 17 and included 1,992 voters with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
Since the escalation in tension, at least 227 Palestinians have been killed, including 64 children and 38 women, the Gaza Health Ministry said, according to the Associated Press. More than 1,600 people have been injured in the clashes.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, an Iran-backed group, have said that at least 20 of their members have died, though Israel disputes that count, saying the number is much higher. Twelve Israelis have been killed.
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President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire,” White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday.
Netanyahu, in response, said he “greatly appreciates the support of the American president” but added that he’s “determined to continue this operation until its aim is met.”
