US Majority: Back Israel Response, Worry About US Terror

A majority of Americans support Israel’s military response to Hamas’ attacks — even as they worry about it leading to terrorism in the United States, a CNN poll showed Sunday.

In the survey breakdown, 50% of respondents say Israel’s response to Hamas attacks is fully justified; 20% say it’s partially justified; 8% say it isn’t justified at all; and 21% are unsure.

In a further analysis, the survey found 68% of Republicans say the Israeli response is fully justified, compared with 45% of independents and 38% of Democrats who say that. But majorities across age and party say the Israeli response is at least partially justified:

• 47% have a moderate amount of trust that President Joe Biden is making the right decision on the war between Israel and Hamas.
• 71% of Americans say they feel a lot of sympathy for the Israeli people over the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, with 96%, expressing at least some sympathy for them. 
• 87% feel some sympathy for the Palestinian people; 41% feel a lot of sympathy for the Palestinians, while 84% say they have a least some sympathy for both Israeli and Palestinian people amid the fighting.
• 78% of Republicans, 68% of independents and 67% of Democrats express a lot of sympathy for the Israeli people, but 49% of Democrats, 47% of independents and just 26% of Republicans say they have a  lot of sympathy for the Palestinians.
• Only 16% of Americans express a great deal of trust in Biden to make the right decisions on the situation in Israel, 31% say they trust him moderately, 26% say they have not much trust, and 28% none at all. Broken down by political affiliation, 80% of Democrats say they trust Biden a great deal or moderately, compared with 46% of independents and 13% of Republicans.
• 35% say the United States is providing the right amount of assistance to Israel in response to the situation there; 15% say the U.S. assistance is too much; 14% says it’s too little; and another 36% are unsure.
• 66% of Americans say they are at least somewhat worried that the fighting between Israel and Hamas will lead to terrorism in the United States — including 76% of Republicans who are worried about the potential.

The CNN poll by SSRS among 1,003 adults has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. 

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