When Americans learn that the Palestinian Authority has close ties to Hamas, support for a proposed peace deal changes rapidly.
WHY IT MATTERS —The Israel-Palestine conflict has created intense divisions during an election year. Young progressives who support Palestine have become critical of President Joe Biden for his support of Israel. These divisions may be a decisive factor in the election outcome.
THE NUMBERS — A recent Gideon300 poll of 1,000 registered voters asked respondents about a hypothetical peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
- When asked if they favored or opposed the US encouraging Israel to make a peace deal with the Palestinian Authority:
- 55% favored the deal.
- 23% opposed the deal.
- 22% were not sure.
- When informed that the Palestinian Authority wanted to form a unity government with Hamas:
- 56% agreed that the Palestinian Authority was part of the same terrorist group as Hamas.18% did not agree.
- 27% were not sure.
- With this information, voters revised their initial opinions on the peace deal with the Palestinian Authority:
- 46% opposed the deal.
- 30% still favored a peace deal.
- 24% were still not sure.
- When analyzed on party lines, Democrats had the sharpest change in approval:
- 43% of Democrats still supported the peace deal, compared to the initial 73%.
- 28% of independents still supported the peace deal, compared to the initial 43%.
- 19% of Republicans still supported the peace deal, compared to initial 38%.
BOTTOM LINE —While most respondents support a peaceful solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, they do not support the US government forcing Israel to make peace with terrorists. They were quick to change their support for the Palestinian Authority once they realized it was affiliated with Hamas. It is also significant that roughly 25% of respondents answered “not sure” to each question. This may be from a lack of interest or awareness due to differing priorities (such as immigration, inflation, and cost of living), which will also determine the course of the election.
GO DEEPER—POLL: US PRESSURE ON ISRAEL BACKFIRING WITH AMERICAN VOTERS