American voters are concerned that the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas will escalate into a major regional conflict in the Middle East, a new poll finds.
Although Democrats and Republicans both agree that the ongoing war is a problem and both are wary of US involvement in the Middle East, there is a sharp divide over who should be blamed for the escalation of the conflict, according to the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs. Research survey. The vote was taken before Israel began airstrikes on military bases in Iran on Friday.
Almost 6 in 10 voters overall say the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, the Iranian government and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah are “largely” responsible for the escalation of the war. Nearly 4 in 10 blame the Israeli government and nearly 2 in 10 say the US government is too “burdened,” the Associated Press reported.
But crunching the numbers by group reveals a huge gap between left and right. About 6 in 10 Democrats say the Israeli government bears “a great deal” of responsibility for escalating the conflict in Gaza — the same number of Democrats say Hamas bears “a great deal” of responsibility — while nearly 1 in 4 Republicans assign “a lot” of blame to Israel.
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Israeli police and rescue workers are investigating the site where a truck driver rammed into a bus stop near a military base, injuring dozens of people, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
The Middle East conflict has become a major campaign issue as former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris try to win over Muslim and Jewish voters in battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania. About half of voters are “very” or “extremely” worried about a wider war in the Middle East. Although a minority of voters – 4 in 10 – are concerned that the US will enter the conflict.
The poll finds that a majority of voters (55%) support economic sanctions on Iran, which US officials see as the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the Middle East. However, Americans are equally divided on whether the US should provide weapons to the Israeli military and voters are likely to oppose sending US aid to the Israeli military, according to the AP.
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Police disperse people protesting against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanding the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the terrorist group Hamas, near the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem, Monday, October 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
There is bipartisan opposition to sending US troops to the Middle East to help Israel. Almost half of voters oppose putting American boots on the ground in Gaza, while 2 in 10 voters favor sending troops to fight Israel. About another 2 in 10 had a neutral view, the AP reported.
The Biden-Harris administration has continued to pressure Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire for more than a year now, with little success.
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This composite image shows, from left; President Joe Biden, March 12, 2020, in Wilmington, Del., and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Oct. 28, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo, File)
About half of American voters think the US is “doing everything possible” to broker an end to the war between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah. Three in 10 say the US should be doing more, while nearly 2 in 10 voters say the US should be doing less.
Also, there are partisan differences over how the US should deal with the conflict. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say that the US should be less involved in the ceasefire negotiations. About three in 10 GOP voters say the US should do less, but one in 10 Democrats say the same. About 6 in 10 Democrats say the US is doing what it can, compared to about 4 in 10 Republicans.
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Democrats, Republicans and independents are likely to say the US could do more.
The AP-NORC survey of 1,072 adults was conducted on Oct. 11-14, 2024 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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