US opinion poll: ‘Israel military aid’: 36% ‘Israel’s military response is excessive’: 40%

US opinion poll: ‘Israel military aid’: 36% ‘Israel’s military response is excessive’: 40%

In an Associated Press poll, only 36% said it was extremely or very important to provide aid to the Israeli military to fight Hamas.
The Associated Press reported on the 8th that a new poll from the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 40% of Americans said Israel's military response in the Gaza Strip had gone too far.
A public opinion poll showed that 58% of Democratic Party supporters responded that ‘Israel’s counterattack is excessive.’
The poll found that overall, 38% of Americans responded that ‘Israel’s response was almost right,’ while only 18% responded that ‘not enough progress has been made.’
What complicates the situation is that American public opinion polls reveal the American characteristic of a strong interest in balancing multiple foreign policy goals simultaneously.
Six in 10 Americans think it is very important for the United States to help rescue hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, while about half say it is very important to 'prevent harm to Palestinian civilians' or 'provide humanitarian aid in the territory.' responded that it was important.
About half of Americans (52%) say they are extremely or very concerned that the recent war between Israel and Hamas will increase prejudice against Jews in the United States. About 10 in 4 (43%) have the same concern about prejudice against Muslims.
The majority of Democratic Party supporters are concerned that prejudice will increase in similar proportions as Jews (57%) and Muslims (58%) respond to concerns about prejudice.
A majority of Republicans are concerned about prejudice against Jews (54%), while less than half (28%) are concerned about Muslims.
In an AP survey of young nonpartisans who were registered to vote but not a political party, 18-year-old California resident Sean O'Hara said, "It doesn't align with my beliefs to fund wars like this," adding, "I don't want to get away from it." I think this is a better choice. “They (Israel) are colonizing all of Palestine and have been for many years,” he introduced the interview, revealing that he was concerned about young people supporting Israel.
He told the Associated Press that while there was initially sympathy for Israel after the Hamas attack, "things have changed now that people are thinking, 'There's history here.'"

The poll was conducted from the 2nd to the 6th of 1,239 adults using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population.
The ‘middle ground’ of public opinion is creating an awkward situation in war.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who is said to be the most progressive member of the U.S. Congress, said in a CNN interview on the 5th, "I don't know how you can have a cease-fire, a permanent cease-fire, with an organization like Hamas that is dedicated to creating chaos and confusion and destroying the state of Israel." He said, and was directly attacked by his secretaries during the presidential campaign.
Brianna Joy Gray, who was the national press secretary for Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign, immediately refuted X (Twitter), saying, "It is the biggest political disappointment of our generation."
Conflicts are growing over the preferences for ‘pause’ and ‘truce’, which have rapidly emerged as political issues between conservatives and progressives.
Under pressure from American liberal activists outraged by the civilian casualties of Israeli attacks, US Democrats accepted a "pause".
On the other hand, that position angered the Republican Party's hawkish pro-Israel voters by allowing it to express sympathy for Palestinians right from the start.
Regarding the general confusion, NYT said, “The Biden administration has made clear in recent days that a pause is good and a ceasefire is bad,” adding, “President Biden called for a ‘pause’ in fighting, saying it was ‘giving time to rescue prisoners.’ “This is a reference to the more than 200 hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, some of whom are presumed to be Americans,” it was reported on the 8th.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said last week that "calling for a ceasefire is a demand that Israel surrender to Hamas and surrender to terrorism."
Prime Minister Netanyahu said in an ABC News interview airing on Thursday that he was open to "a tactical pause, an hour here, an hour there."
A senior Israeli official first wrote ‘pause’ in a briefing on the 7th, saying, “The Israeli government is considering a localized pause in certain areas to increase the flow of humanitarian aid.”
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said in a CNN interview on the 7th, “We are already enforcing a moratorium on Palestinians leaving the northern part of the Gaza Strip, where the most intense fighting is taking place,” and added, “For the past 10 days, Israel has been “The city has notified Palestinians in advance that ‘we will withhold fire’ by allowing a ‘window’ between 3 p.m. to allow civilians to evacuate from northern Gaza ‘to the relative safety of the south,’” he said. .
The confusion of public opinion in the United States grew further due to the overuse of mixed phrases combining “ceasefire” and “humanitarian pause.”
As polarized tensions rise on American college campuses, Republican politicians and activists have weighed in on the emotional debate between students and faculty, the NYT reported.
In providing aid, some UN agencies and the International Rescue Committee have expressed support for a "humanitarian ceasefire" to evacuate the sick and injured and release hostages.
“The main difference has to do with the purpose of the pause,” said Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, a researcher at Chatham House in London, about the “pause” and “ceasefire” conflicts. “Whether it is to allow activities to be carried out without risk of damage from active combat, or whether it is a generalized cessation of hostilities.”
“Cessation of hostilities for specific humanitarian purposes tend to be limited in scope in terms of duration and location,” he said. “Although they do provide pauses in fighting, these tend to be short, localized interruptions and typically involve convoys.” “It involves very specific agreements between the warring parties on issues such as the precise time slots and routes granted to assist refugees,” he told the NYT.
He continued, “The ceasefire has nothing to do with specific humanitarian objectives and may affect the achievement of the strategic and military objectives of hostilities,” adding, “The use of inconsistent or ambiguous terminology has caused this confusion.”