November 20, 2012

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A poll showed a majority of Americans back Israel’s launch of a retaliatory attack on the Gaza Strip.

Asked whether “Israel was justified or unjustified in taking military action against Hamas and the Palestinians in the area known as Gaza,” 57 percent responded “Yes, justified” and 25 percent answered “No, not justified,” according to a CNN poll published Monday.

The poll also showed a substantial disparity between Democrats and Republicans, according to CNN, with 40 percent of Democrats choosing “justified” as opposed to 74 percent among Republicans and 59 percent among independents.

The poll, carried out by ORC International in 1,023 phone interviews from Nov. 16 to Nov.18, has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Israel launched air and naval attacks on Gaza on Nov. 14 after an intensfication of rocket fire from Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas.

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