Majority of American public blames Hamas for current conflict

Poll shows US public opinion is divided by political affiliations; majority of Americans still see Hamas as more responsible for current crisis in Gaza.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Des terroristes du Hamas (photo credit: REUTERS)
Des terroristes du Hamas
(photo credit: REUTERS)
According to a recent poll by PewResearch, 40% of Americans blame Hamas for the current crisis in Gaza, while only 19% believe that Israel is responsible.
The poll was conducted among 1,005 adults in July of 2014.
The study also found that the public's opinion was largely divided by political affiliation. 60% of those who considered themselves Republican believed that Hamas held the blame for the current violence. Among Democrats, opinion was more divided with 29% holding Hamas more responsible and 26% saying that Israel was to blame. 18% of Democrats said both sides were to blame.
According to the survey a majority of Americans agreed with Israel's response in the conflict, but by a lesser margin of 35% saying that Israel's response was "about right." 25% felt Israel has "gone too far" and 15$ believed Israel had "not gone far enough."
Further analyzing demographics, the poll found that elderly Americans held a more favorable view of Israel, as did Caucasians. College students, African Americans and Latinos were more divided without a clear majority opinion.