In an ABCNEWS poll completed Sunday, 45 percent said there should be such a state, 20 percent said there should not and a large 35 percent had no opinion.
Public opinion on the subject has been unsettled, with different questions eliciting a wide range of results — not surprising given the issue's distance and complexity. President Bush offered guidelines for a future Palestinian state in a speech today.
Read more about Bush's remarks.
One poll last fall noted that Bush favored creating a Palestinian state, and 77 percent supported his position. An ABCNEWS poll in April asked if the United States should "recognize Palestine as an independent nation"; 68 percent said yes.
At the other end of the spectrum, a recent news poll found an even division on "the establishment of a Palestinian homeland" — 34 percent said yes, 32 percent no.
This poll asked, "Do you think there should or should not be an independent Palestinian nation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip?" Those who said yes were asked if it should include East Jerusalem; about half had no opinion, with the rest dividing evenly.
Support for a Palestinian nation is highest in this poll among college graduates (57 percent) and young adults (53 percent of 18- to 34-year olds). It's lowest among rural and lower-income Americans.
Methodology
This ABCNEWS poll was conducted by telephone June 21-23, among a random national sample of 1,157 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Fieldwork was conducted by ICR-International Communications Research of Media, Pa.
Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our PollVault.
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