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Friday, February 27, 2026
Gallup poll: US sympathies shift to Palestinians from Israelis for first time
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Americans for the first time sympathize more with Palestinians than Israelis in their conflict, according to a Gallup poll released today.
Views on the Middle East divide sharply along partisan lines, with the shift over the past year the result of more independents souring on Israel.
Overall, 41 percent of Americans sympathize more with the Palestinians and 36 percent sided with Israel, the poll says, with the rest undecided or saying they favored both or neither.
The gap is not statistically significant, but it marks the first time since Gallup asked the question more than two decades ago that Israel was not on top. It also marks a sharp difference from just a year ago, when Israel led in sympathies 46 to 33 percent.
When asked about their sympathies, independents sided with the Palestinian people by 11 percentage points.
Members of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party continue to back Israel strongly, with 70% siding with Israel, although that figure has declined by 10 percentage points over the past decade.
In the latest poll, 65% of Democrats sympathized with the Palestinians and 17% with Israel.
Gallup surveyed 1,001 US adults by telephone from February 2 to 16.
The Times of Israel Community.