Americans Split On Whether Trump Should Officially Recognize Israeli Annexations

Israel and its lobby want President Trump to formally recognize territories annexed by Israel, but that most of the world consider unlawfully occupied. Bestowing U.S. legitimacy on Israel’s annexation of Syria’s Golan Heights, seized by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, would solidify a "buffer zone" to keep Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard at bay in war-torn Syria, argued Benjamin Netanyahu in April.

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman argued last week that the presence of hundreds of thousands of Israelis in the West Bank is only an "alleged occupation." Friedman claimed settlements were "only occupying 2% of the West Bank," elaborating that "I think the settlements are part of Israel." 53 members of Congress on a recent American Israel Education Foundation junkets to Israel are told in briefings by AIPAC lobbyists accompanying them that East Jerusalem, also seized by Israel in 1967, "is not a settlement."

One reason Israel and its lobby may soon get their way on formal recognition is that Americans are evenly split. An IRmep poll fielded the issue September 30-October 2 to a representative cross-section of 1,000 adult American Internet users. It reveals a result too close to call, with 48.3% saying Trump should not recognize Israeli territorial annexations, but 47.3% saying that he should.

Israel's lobby wants Pres. Trump to recognize Israel's annexing East Jerusalem, part of the West Bank & Syria's Golan Heights. Past US presidents & UN resolutions opposed it:

Survey developed by: IRmep, with special thanks to Jeffrey Blankfort
Survey fielded by: Google Surveys 9/30/2017
Representative Sample size: 1,000
Google survey page (link)
Raw survey data from Google (Download)

In the News:

Will Trump Recognize Israeli Annexations? Poll reveals Americans are evenly split
10/04/2017 Antiwar.com

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