More than half of U.S. adults, or 53%, have an unfavorable opinion of Israel, up from 42% in March 2022 – before the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted March 24-30 looking at U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy and global trade actions.
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President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: TNS)
The survey also found that Americans’ confidence in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also remains relatively low, at 32%.
U.S. President Donald Trump has so far received mixed or negative views from Americans regarding his early foreign policy actions, including his involvement with Israel and in trying to end the war with Gaza.
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Trump has great plans for Gaza
(Photo: AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Other foreign policy actions surveyed include Trump's working more closely with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, withdrawing the U.S. from international agreements, his statements about taking over Greenland and Gaza and tariffs imposed on U.S. trade partners.
One example is that more Americans disapprove than approve of the U.S. leaving international organizations and agreements including the World Health Organization, the Paris Climate Agreement and cancelling most U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs
Some 43% of Americans says Trump is favoring Russia too much in his negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war, but when asked about their opinion on whether Trump is striking the right balance when it comes to U.S. relations with Israelis and Palestinians, opinions are more mixed.
Some 31% say they see him favoring the Israelis too much and 29% say he is striking the right balance. Another 3% say he is favoring the Palestinians too much. This leaves 37% who say that they are unsure.
For comparison, in July, views of how U.S. President Joe Biden was handling the conflict were more even with 21% saying he favored Israelis too much and 20 % saying he favored Palestinians too much, with another 18% saying he was striking the right balance and 40% unsure.
Trump: I will own Gaza, no right of return for Palestinians
US president defends Gaza plan as 'real estate development for the future,' rejecting Palestinian right of return and insisting Jordan and Egypt could take in Gazans
Ynetnews, Reuters|Updated:02.10.25 | 17:30
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U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his plan for the Gaza Strip on Monday, saying he believes he can broker a deal with Jordan and Egypt to take in Palestinian residents.
"We give them billions and billions of dollars a year," Trump told Fox News, adding that the U.S. would build "beautiful and safe communities" for Gaza’s 1.9 million residents "a little bit away from where they are." He described the proposal as a real estate development project, saying, "Think of it as a real estate development for the future—it would be a beautiful piece of land."
US President Donald Trump on plans of Gaza ownership
(Video: Fox News)
Meanwhile, most Americans do not think it’s likely Trump will pursue a takeover of Gaza.
Some 38% say it’s either not too or not at all likely, 26% say it’s somewhat likely, and 20% say it’s extremely or very likely. Another 16% are unsure.
Some 62% of Americans oppose the U.S. taking over Gaza, including 49% who strongly oppose it. Another 22% are unsure, while 15% favor it.
From the perspective of politics, Republicans are somewhat more likely than Democrats to say it is unlikely that Trump will try to take over Gaza, with Republicans at 43% and Democrats at 34%.
Republicans are also more likely than Democrats to be in favor of a U.S. takeover of Gaza at 27% to 5%, though a plurality of people in both parties oppose it. Some 44% of Republicans oppose the U.S. taking over Gaza, while another 28% are unsure. Democrats are fairly united in their opposition, with 80% saying they oppose the measure, including 72% who strongly oppose it.
On Monday, speaking to reporters before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump described the Gaza Strip as “a tremendous piece of real estate” and said the U.S. still plans to take control of the territory. “It’s a great place. I don’t understand why Israel gave it up,” he said in remarks from the White House.
The survey was conducted from March 24 to March 30. A total of 3,605 panelists responded out of 4,045 who were sampled, for a survey-level response rate of 89%. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 3,605 respondents is plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.
The survey includes oversample of Jewish, Muslim and non-Hispanic Asian adults in order to provide more precise estimates of the opinions and experiences of these smaller demographic subgroups. These oversampled groups are weighted back to reflect their correct proportions in the population.