More Democrats sympathize with Palestinians than Israelis: poll

More Democrats for the first time are saying that their sympathies lie with Palestinians more than Israelis, according to a new poll.

When asked, "In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians?" Of the Democrats polled, 49% said the Palestinians and 38% said Israelis, according to a Gallup poll released late last week. When the poll was taken last year, 40% of Democrats said Israelis and 38% said Palestinians.

Republicans are far more likely to side with Israelis, with 78% saying their sympathies lie with Israelis and 11% saying Palestinians. 

This poll was conducted from Feb. 1-23 with a random sample of 1,008 U.S. adults, and the margin of error is 4%.

Gallup said one of the possible reasons for Democrats' decreased sympathy for Israelis is the fact that fewer Democrats are regularly attending religious services, and sympathy for Israel is correlated historically with religion.