There are currently 193 member states in the United Nations. Each of these member states has representation in the United Nations General Assembly. The state of Palestine is expected to become the 194th state in September
By Patricia Zengerle and Jason Lange
WASHINGTON- A 58% majority of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognize Palestine as a nation, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, as Israel and Hamas considered a possible truce in the nearly two-year-long war.
Some 33% of respondents did not agree that U.N. members should recognize a Palestinian state and 9% did not answer.
The six-day poll, which closed on Monday, was taken within weeks of three countries, close U.S. allies Canada, Britain and France, announcing they intend to recognize the State of Palestine. This ratcheted up pressure on Israel as starvation spreads in Gaza.
The survey was taken amid hopes that Israel and Hamas would agree on a ceasefire to provide a break in the fighting, free some hostages and ease shipments of humanitarian assistance.
Two officials said on Tuesday Israel was studying Hamas’ response to a potential deal for a 60-day truce and the release of half the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said last week that the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn Palestinian enclave has reached “unimaginable levels,” as aid groups warned that Gazans are on the verge of famine.
The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday Israel was not letting enough supplies into the Gaza Strip to avert widespread starvation. Israel has denied responsibility for hunger in Gaza, accusing Hamas of stealing aid shipments, which Hamas denies.
A larger majority of the Reuters/Ipsos poll respondents, 65%, said the U.S. should take action in Gaza to help people facing starvation, with 28% disagreeing. The number disagreeing included 41% of President Donald Trump’s Republicans.
File: A Palestinian worker at a printers in the West Bank inspects a banner supporting the upcoming bid for statehood at the UN. In a key
UN General Assembly vote in May 2024, 143 countries voted in favor of granting the State of Palestine full UN membership, including nations like France, China, Russia, and Australia. The vote also included many European, Latin American, and African nations such as Spain, Mexico, and Algeria, as well as countries like India, Egypt, and South Africa. This vote recognized Palestine’s qualification for membership but did not grant it, as only the Security Council can decide on new members, where the United States has veto power. Photograph: Issam Rimawi/Zuma Press/Corbis
Trump and many of his fellow Republicans take an “America First” approach to international relations, backing steep cuts to the country’s international food and medical assistance programs in the belief that U.S. funds should assist Americans, not those outside its borders.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,139 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s offensive has since killed more than 62,000 Palestinians, plunged Gaza into humanitarian crisis and displaced most of its population, according to Gaza health authorities.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll also showed that 59% of Americans believe that Israel’s military response in Gaza has been excessive. Thirty-three percent of respondents disagreed.
In a similar Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in February 2024, 53% of respondents agreed that Israel’s response had been excessive, and 42% disagreed.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos survey, conducted online, gathered responses from 4,446 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 2 percentage points.
(Reuters)