Israeli and Palestinian adults hold sharply different views of U.S. assistance in the region, with 69% of Palestinians surveyed saying Washington gives Israel too much military aid and 52% of Israelis saying it provides too much humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Pew Research Center findings also reveal large divisions within Israel, particularly between Jewish and Arab adults and between supporters and opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition.
Pew surveyed 1,001 adults in Israel and 1,038 adults in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in Hebrew and Arabic. Interviews were conducted from March 30 to May 6, 2026, during the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran and after an initial ceasefire was declared April 7.
Researchers could not survey Gaza because of security concerns. The Palestinian results therefore represent adults in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, not all Palestinians in the territories.
Views split over military assistance to Israel
Forty-eight percent of Israeli adults said the United States provides about the right amount of military assistance to Israel. Twenty percent said the aid is excessive, while 23% said it is insufficient.
Among Jewish Israelis, 57% called the amount of military assistance appropriate and 7% said it was too much. Jewish Israelis who support Netanyahu's governing coalition were more likely to say the United States provides too little military aid than Jews who do not support the coalition, 35% to 19%.
Age differences also appeared among Jewish respondents. Nearly four in 10 Jewish adults ages 18 to 34 said U.S. military assistance was insufficient, compared with about one-quarter or fewer of older Jewish adults.
Israeli Arab adults expressed the opposite view: 72% said the United States provides Israel with too much military assistance. Pew reported that this position was common among Israeli Arabs across age groups.
In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, 69% of Palestinian adults said U.S. military support for Israel was excessive. Three percent called it about right, 1% said it was not enough and about one-quarter were unsure.
The United States disbursed more than $3 billion in assistance to Israel during fiscal 2025, primarily for military purposes, according to figures cited by Pew. The report said Israel has received more U.S. foreign assistance since World War II than any other country.
Gaza humanitarian aid produces another divide
Fifty-two percent of Israeli adults said the United States gives too much humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Nineteen percent said the aid was insufficient, while 18% considered it about right.
Among Israeli Jews, 64% said the United States provides too much Gaza aid. That view was held by 76% of Jews who support Netanyahu's coalition and 50% of those who do not.
Younger Jewish adults were again more likely to favor the more restrictive position. Seventy-four percent of Israeli Jews ages 18 to 34 said Gaza receives too much U.S. humanitarian aid, compared with 60% or fewer in older age groups.
Only 8% of Israeli Arab adults said the United States sends too much humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Sixty-seven percent said the amount is not enough.
Palestinian respondents in the West Bank and East Jerusalem largely agreed that Gaza receives insufficient humanitarian help from Washington. Seventy percent said the United States does not provide enough, 23% were unsure, 2% called the amount right and 1% said it was too much.
The United States disbursed about $496 million in total foreign assistance directly to the West Bank and Gaza in fiscal 2025, a large share for humanitarian purposes, Pew said. Assistance has moved through bilateral channels and United Nations agencies, and previously went through the now-defunct Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Political attitudes track opinions of the United States
Pew found broader differences in how Jewish and Arab Israelis view the United States. Ninety-six percent of Jewish Israeli adults expressed favorable views of the country, compared with 19% of Israeli Arab adults.
Confidence in President Donald Trump on world affairs stood at 79% among Jewish Israelis and 13% among Arab Israelis. Approval of his handling of the Gaza conflict was 57% among Jewish respondents and 14% among Arab respondents.
The results describe public opinion during an unusually volatile period and do not measure whether aid levels are adequate by military, diplomatic or humanitarian standards. The inability to survey Gaza is also a significant limitation when interpreting Palestinian views about assistance to civilians there.
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