58% of Americans Back Recognition of Palestinian Statehood; 65% of Germans Favor Partial Israel Arms Embargo: Polls
London (Quds News Network)- A new poll shows that 58 percent of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognize Palestine as a state, as Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza nears its second year.
Some 33 percent of respondents to the Reuters/Ipsos poll did not agree that UN members should recognize a Palestinian state and 9 percent did not answer.
The six-day poll, which closed on Monday, was taken within weeks of three countries, close US allies Canada, Britain and France, announcing they intend to recognize the State of Palestine.
A larger majority of respondents, 65 percent, said the US should take action in Gaza to help people facing Israeli-made famine and starvation, with 28 percent disagreeing. The number disagreeing included 41 percent of President Donald Trump's Republicans.
The poll also showed that 59 percent of Americans believe that Israel's war in Gaza has been excessive. Thirty-three percent of respondents disagreed.
In a similar Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in February 2024, 53 percent of respondents agreed that Israel's war had been excessive, and 42 percent disagreed.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos survey, conducted online, gathered responses from 4,446 US adults nationwide.
Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of Germans support Chancellor Friedrich Merz's decision to partially suspend arms exports to Israel, according to a YouGov survey conducted for German news outlet DPA.
The poll found that 65 percent of respondents backed the move announced by the government in Berlin earlier this month, while 19 percent opposed it and 16 percent were undecided. The poll of 2,175 people was conducted in mid-August.
Merz said exports of arms to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip would be suspended, citing Israel’s decision to expand its assault in the Palestinian territory.
Support for the decision was above average among voters of the Greens, the Left, the Social Democrats, and Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc. It was lower among supporters of the pro-business Free Democrats and the far-right AfD.
Opinion was more divided on whether the European Union should review an agreement with Israel that governs political and economic ties. Several EU states, including Spain and France, have called for the suspension of the pact over Israel's assault in Gaza.
According to an internal review by the EU earlier this year, Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, particularly on humanitarian aid, does not align with the principles outlined in the pact.
Germany opposes suspending or changing the pact, arguing that dialogue must remain open. The survey found 45 percent backed Berlin's stance, 32 percent disagreed, and 23 percent had no opinion.
Israel said it has terminated the humanitarian activities in Gaza of Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, after it refused to provide a list of its Palestinian staff over concerns for their safety and a lack of assurances on how the information would be used by Israel.
Encyclopaedia Britannica removed Israel from its educational materials for children and replaced it with Palestine. Following pressure from a pro-Israel lawyers’ group, Britannica reverted to using Israel.