WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – Only 8.1 percent of U.S. Democrats blame the Palestinians for the Zionist regime’s offensive on the blockaded Gaza Strip in May, a recent survey has shown, highlighting the growing partisan divide over perceptions of the conflict in American politics.
According to the poll published by the University of Maryland, 3.7 percent of Republicans said the Zionist regime were mostly to blame for the escalation.
The figures affirm previous polling which suggests that Democrats are becoming increasingly sympathetic towards the Palestinians while Republicans hold on to the prevailing pro-Zionist stance in U.S. politics.
The majority of respondents - 62.7 percent - said America’s role in mediating the conflict should “lean toward neither side”.
Only 9.5 percent of Democrats said it should lean towards the occupying regime, compared to 50.7 percent of Republicans. A larger share of Democratic respondents, 17.9 percent, said U.S. policy should lean towards Palestinians. The number drops to 2.5 percent amongst Republicans.
The national poll was conducted from 22 June to 21 July among 3,379 respondents.
The poll comes amid growing calls from progressive Democrats that the Biden administration should push the Zionist regime to respect the human rights of Palestinians.
More than 43 of the Democrats and a quarter of overall respondents agreed with the statement that “the U.S. must apply more pressure on Israel, including withholding aid”.
Despite increased Democratic willingness to criticize the Zionist regime, U.S. President Biden has continued his predecessors’ nearly unquestioning support for the occupying regime.
During the occupying regime’s May offensive, the U.S. administration kept emphasizing what it called “Israel’s right to defend itself” and blocked a statement from the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire.
U.S. officials said Washington was focused on “quiet” diplomacy to end the fighting.
The regime’s strikes killed more than 250 Palestinians, including dozens of children.