Majority of Americans want Barack Obama to back Israel

 A new poll has shown that an overwhelming majority of Americans think that President Barack Obama should back Israel but are evenly split over how Obama has dealt with that country.

A Quinnipiac University poll showed 63 percent of respondents said Obama should support Israel and 20 percent held the contrary view, Politico reports.

Thirty nine percent of those surveyed said Obama supports Israel, while 40 percent disagreed with the view.

The poll also showed that 48 percent of the respondents disapproved of the way Obama is handling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Fifty one percent of respondents sympathized with Israelis though 44 percent backed the establishment of a Palestinian state.

According to the poll, 64 percent blamed both Israel and Palestine for the failure to establish a new state. Just six percent held Israelis more responsible, while 22 percent said it is the Palestinians who are most at fault.

“Americans remain in Israel’s corner in the dispute with the Palestinians, but they think both sides have contributed to the problem,” Quinnipiac University Polling Institute Assistant Director Peter Brown said.

The Quinnipiac University Poll surveyed 2,118 American voters between September 27 and October 3.