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Published : 22 Oct 2025, 08:22 PM
Most Americans - including 80% of Democrats and 41 percent of Republicans - think the US should recognize Palestinian statehood, a sign that President Donald Trump's opposition to doing so is out of step with public opinion, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The six-day poll, which closed on Monday, found 59 percent of respondents backed US recognition of a Palestinian state, while 33 percent were opposed and the rest were unsure or did not answer the question.
About half of Trump's Republicans – 53 percent - opposed doing so, while 41 percent of Republicans said they would support the US recognizing a Palestinian state.
A growing number of countries - including US allies Britain, Canada, France and Australia - have formally recognized Palestinian statehood in recent weeks, drawing condemnation from Israel, whose founding in 1948 led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and decades of conflict.
Israeli bombardments have leveled vast swaths of Palestinian neighborhoods in Gaza following an Oct 2023 surprise attack by Hamas militants on Israel.
Some 60 percent of poll respondents said Israel's response in Gaza was excessive, compared to 32 percent who disagreed.
Trump, who returned to the White House in January, has largely backed Israel in the war and this month brokered a ceasefire, raising hopes that lasting peace could be in reach.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll gave signs the US public was ready to give Trump credit should his plan work. Some 51 percent of poll respondents agreed with a statement that Trump "deserves significant credit" if peace efforts are successful, compared with 42 percent who disagreed.
While only one in 20 Democrats approve of Trump's overall performance as president, one in four said he should get significant credit if the peace holds.
Success on that front appears far from certain. An explosion of violence over the weekend threatened to derail the week-old truce and US diplomats stepped up pressure on Israel and Hamas to get Trump's plan back on track.
Key questions of Hamas disarming, further Israeli troop pullbacks and future governance of the Palestinian enclave remain unresolved.
Trump's approval rating on foreign policy appeared to be on a modest upswing, rising to 38 percent in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, compared to 33 percent in a poll conducted earlier this month just ahead of the ceasefire deal. The latest rating was Trump's highest since July.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and gathered responses from 4,385 people nationwide. It had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
