Watan-A new opinion poll in the United States has shown that the number of American youth who prefer Palestinians over Israelis is increasing.
The survey conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that the number of American youth with positive views towards Palestinians exceeds those towards Israelis in the current war on Gaza, according to the Middle East Eye newspaper.
While about half of the United States population is unaware of which side has a higher number of casualties.
The survey is the latest research conducted on American attitudes towards the Israeli war on Gaza that began last October.
The survey found that 60% of Americans aged between 18 and 29 expressed positive views towards the Palestinian people, while 46% had positive views towards Israelis.
Decrease in support for Israel
The results from the Pew Center come after a poll conducted by Gallup earlier this month showed that 38% of young people aged between 18 and 34 have positive views towards Israel, a 26% decrease from the previous year.
However, while attitudes seem to be shifting among American youth, a broader survey found that most Americans were unaware of the ground realities in Gaza.
The Pew survey found that 48% of Americans do not know whether the number of casualties in the war is higher for Israelis or Palestinians.
The number of casualties among Israelis in the October 7 attacks led by Hamas was approximately 1,200, while Israeli forces killed over 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
Criticism of media coverage
Some journalists have blamed American media coverage for the lack of awareness of the number of casualties, a criticism echoed by Palestinian Americans as being heavily biased in favor of Israel.
The survey was conducted in February and included a sample of 12,693 adults in the United States with a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points.
Over the past two decades, Israel has received largely positive sentiments in the United States. However, in recent years, opinion polls have shown a slight shift in those views, with more Americans expressing sympathy for Palestinians.
Several opinion polls conducted in recent months have found that more Americans have critical views of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Opinion poll condemns Israel
A poll conducted by The New York Times/Siena College in December found that half of American youth believe Israel intentionally kills civilians in Gaza.
A survey conducted by The Economist in January found that 35% of Americans believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.
Supportive marches for Gaza
The war on Gaza has also sparked significant reactions within the United States, with massive pro-Palestinian rallies regularly held across the country and in major cities.
Since October 7th, there have been 6,304 protests and other pro-Palestinian actions throughout the United States, compared to 971 marches and events supporting Israel held within the country, according to the Crowd Counting Consortium, a public service project tracking peaceful protests.