US Sympathies Even on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

A new Gallup poll reveals that American public opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has reached parity for the first time, with sympathies evenly divided between Israelis and Palestinians after decades of strong support for Israel. Conducted from February 2 to 16, 2026, among 1,001 U.S. adults, the survey shows 41 percent of respondents sympathizing more with Palestinians, compared to 36 percent for Israelis, within a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. This marks a significant change from three years earlier, when 54 percent favored Israelis and 31 percent Palestinians, with the shift accelerating amid the ongoing war in Gaza that began after Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The poll indicates the trend toward greater sympathy for Palestinians predated the war, emerging around 2017, but intensified during Israel's military operations in Gaza. In that initial assault, Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. Gaza health officials report more than 72,000 Palestinians killed since then, nearly half women and children, with large areas of the territory destroyed....