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By David Rosenberg, World Israel News Staff
Nearly half of American voters support President Donald Trump’s plan, unveiled earlier this month, to resettle Gaza’s entire population abroad to facilitate the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip – even as a wide majority of Americans oppose the president’s proposal for America to take control over the coastal enclave.
On Monday, Harvard/HarrisX published a new poll, conducted between February 19 and 20, surveying 2,443 registered voters.
The poll found that only about half (47%) of American voters believe Trump is serious about his plan to take control of Gaza and repatriate the area’s population of roughly two million to third-party countries. The remaining 53% believe the president’s proposal is merely a negotiating tactic.
Less than one-third (30%) say they support Trump’s proposal to place Gaza under direct American control, but nearly half (44%) back resettling Gazans abroad.
The vast majority of Americans, however, say that Hamas should not be allowed to govern the Gaza Strip again after the war with Israel is completed, with just 22% of respondents saying the Islamist terror group should be allowed to rule Gaza.
Nearly four-fifths (79%) of Americans say Hamas must release all remaining hostages immediately and unconditionally or face “serious consequences.”
Broken down by party identification, 86% of Republicans, 75% of independents, and 74% of Democrats agreed with the above statement.
Americans are divided along partisan lines regarding their perceptions of Trump’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
In total, 54% of the country approves of his handling of the war, including 85% of Republicans, 49% of independents, and 26% of Democrats.
More than half (57%) of Americans say the U.S. should aid Israel in carrying out airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities, while an even wider majority (76%) say those facilities should be destroyed, without specifying how or by whom.
Republicans were far more likely to support U.S. aid to an Israeli airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, with 74% backing such a move, compared to 45% of Democrats and 51% of independents.
Overall, Americans have a net favorable perception of the Jewish state, on par with Ukraine, while the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are both subject to deeply negative net perceptions.
Nearly half (43%) say they have a favorable view of Israel – including 16% who have a very favorable view – compared to 30% who have a negative view, including 13% who have a very negative view, for a net positive of 13 points.
Ukraine also has a favorability score of 13 points, while Russia has a net score of negative 56, behind China at -45.
Thirteen percent of respondents have a favorable view of the Palestinian Authority, compared to 46% who have a negative view, for a net score of -33 – well ahead of Hamas’s net score of -55, with just 8% of Americans viewing the terror group favorably.
Over three-quarters (77%) of respondents favor Israel over Hamas.
While a partisan gap does exist on the issue, with 85% of Republicans favoring Israel over Hamas compared to just 69% of Democrats and 76% of independents, the most significant predictor was age.
Respondents 18 to 24 were almost evenly divided, with just 54% backing Israel over Hamas and 46% favoring Hamas over Israel.
By comparison, 93% of respondents over 65 support Israel over Hamas, followed by 86% of respondents aged 55 to 64, 77% of those 45 to 54, 69% of the 35-44 age cohort, and 62% of those ages 25 to 34.
