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In an apparent shift of opinion, one-third of Canadians are now equally sympathetic to both sides of the Israel-Gaza conflict, according to a new poll.
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At the outset of the war — after Hamas terrorists launched an attack on innocent Israelis on Oct. 7 — polling by Angus Reid showed there was a 10% gap, with Israel capturing the support of 28% of Canadians, compared to 18% for Gaza.
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A Angus Reid poll now found one-third (33%) say their sympathies are “about equal” between both sides.
The poll also found:
— 50% of Canadians believe Israel’s response has been “too heavy-handed,” a five-point increase from November
— 29% believe neither the goal of eradicating Hamas nor of freeing Israeli hostages will be reached.
— 19% say both goals are achievable.
— 41% believe Israel is committing a genocide, while 32% reject that contention.
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The poll says half (49%) of Canadians now want an absolute end to the conflict, while 17% believe if a ceasefire is called, it should only be temporary. The poll found 18% believe there should be no ceasefire.
In November, 35% of Canadians believed the ceasefire should be temporary, compared to 30% who thought it should be permanent.
Conducted online Feb. 2-7, the pollster, who surveyed of 1,610 Canadian adults, noted a probability sample of this size carries a margin of error of 2%, 19 times out of 20.
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