A majority of Americans favor Israel brokering a peace deal with the Palestinian Authority amid the war in Gaza — yet that support plummets when respondents are told the authority could include Hamas militants in a unity government.
The biggest swing is among Democrats, whose support for an Israel-Palestinian Authority deal plummets from 73% to 43% upon learning the PA could extend Cabinet positions and other roles to Hamas, according to Gideon300, a public affairs organization partnering with pollster Scott Rasmussen and his RMG Research group.
Support for a deal drops roughly 20 points among both Republican respondents and independents when they learn of possible ties with Hamas.
“This data reveals that voters are squarely opposed to any proposal that would force Israel to make a deal with terrorists, or those who support terror,” said Matthew Faraci, president of Gideon300. “At the beginning of this survey, a slim majority favored the U.S. brokering a deal involving [the] Palestinian Authority. However, after learning about the PA’s alignment with Hamas, voters dramatically switched their opinion, and — in the end — a strong majority across all parties opposed such a deal.”
The PA was formed in the 1990s as part of peace accords with Israel that offered the PA limited autonomy over part of the West Bank and Gaza.
Hamas is a Palestinian militant group and the de facto leadership in Gaza. Israel’s military is battering Gaza to root out Hamas after its militants attacked southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7.
The mounting civilian death toll in Gaza is spurring global talk of a peace deal and a new PA government, though any inclusion of Hamas figures will make it unattractive to American and other Western officials.
The new poll suggests the American public would not accept any Hamas role in a peace deal between the PA and Israel.
While 55% of Americans want Israel to seek peace with the PA amid disputes over Gaza and Israeli settlements in the West Bank, less than a third would support it when learning the PA would give Hamas members a seat at the table.
The poll was conducted March 11-12 among 1,000 likely general election voters.
Hamas and the dominant Palestinian political faction, Fatah, recently met in Moscow to discuss a unity government.
In February, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki downplayed the idea of including Hamas in a new Palestinian government, saying it would be distasteful to other nations.
“The time now is not for a government where Hamas will be a part of it, because, in this case, then it will be boycotted by a number of countries, as happened before,” he told the U.N. Correspondents’ Association. “We don’t want to be in a situation like that.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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