A growing number of young Americans think Israel’s assault on Gaza constitutes a genocide, a poll has found.
The findings in the Economist/YouGov poll, released last Wednesday, indicate that those aged 18-29 are far more likely to agree that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza than other age groups, reports the Anadolu news agency.
Forty-nine percent held this opinion compared to a little more than one-third of the general public, according to the report.
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The International Court of Justice issued its interim ruling on Friday in which it ordered Israel to take “all measures within its power” to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza. South Africa brought the case to the World Court in December asking it to grant emergency measures to end the ongoing assault on the besieged enclave.
Ara Roslop, a student at the American University in Washington, DC, told Anadolu that he has been to the occupied West Bank and has Palestinian friends whose families live in Gaza.
Asked if he thinks what is happening in Gaza constitutes a genocide, the 21-year-old responded: “Yes, I do. Or at least ethnic cleansing, and at least war crimes.”
Another student, Michael Caron, 20, who is also studying at the American University, said he has been watching what is happening in Gaza online.
“Israel has completely seized and taken over Gaza. They carpet bombed the cities from an attack that happened on Oct. 7, even though this is something that’s gone on for over seven years,” he reportedly said.
Caron said he is disappointed with US policies, adding that “I think that a genocide is what’s happening, frankly”.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 26,751 Palestinians have been killed, and 65,636 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(PC, Anadolu)
