A public opinion poll released by a research institute at the University of Maryland shows that 71 percent of Americans believe that the United States government should not take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The survey, which measured attitudes of nearly 19,000 respondents in countries around the world, found that in 14 of the 18 nations studied, a large majority favored an even-handed approach to the conflict.
Only in three countries, Egypt, Iran and Turkey, did the weight of responses favor taking the side of the Palestinians, with 86 percent of Egyptian and 63 percent of the Iranian respondents taking that position. In Turkey, 42 percent said their government should take the Palestinians' side, versus 38 percent who said that Turkey should be even-handed, and only 4 percent who said it should take Israel's side.
In none of the countries did a majority support taking Israel's side. Of American respondents, 21 percent said the United States should take Israel's side, and only 3 percent, the Palestinians.
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In 13 of the 15 nations, most respondents said Israel was doing its peacemaking "not very well" or "not well at all," including 59 percent of the Americans polled. Thirty percent of Americans had a favorable view of Israel's peacemaking efforts. India and China were the sole exceptions, with 35 percent of Indians saying that Israel was doing its part, versus 25 percent who said that it was not. Opinion was narrowly split among Chinese, with 41 percent voicing a favorable rating to 39 percent unfavorable.
HAARETZ:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/999741.html