Poll: Americans oppose Israeli settlements

COLLEGE PARK, Md., April 29 (UPI) -- The majority of Americans say they think Israel should not build settlements in the Palestinian territories, a poll indicates.

The WorldPublicOpinion.org poll found that 75 percent of respondents say they oppose the settlements, up 23 points from a 2002 survey.

The poll also indicates about one-third of Americans say they have more sympathy for Israelis than the Palestinians, while 12 percent expressed more sympathy for the Palestinians.

On party lines, 83 percent of Democrats said they opposed the Israeli settlements, compared to 65 percent of Republicans and 74 percent of independents.

"Americans are showing increasing impatience with Israel for building settlements," comments Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org. "Even the third of Americans who sympathize with Israel more than the Palestinians oppose the settlements."

The poll of 1,004 respondents was conducted March 25 to April 6 by Knowledge Networks. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 to 4.5 percent.