A poll carried out by a major polling group and newspaper chain in the United States shows that most Americans doubt that President Obama can resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Authority struggle.

The poll was taken during the Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign, which most respondents said was totally justified.

The survey was carried out by Ipsos Public Affairs in North America, which conducts strategic research, in cooperation with the McClatchy newspaper chain. It surveyed 1,054 adults age 18 and over.

In response to the question, "How confident are you that the incoming Obama administration can resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians?" 51 percent said they were not too confident or not confident at all, while only 42 percent were optimistic. The remainder of those polled were not sure.

Concerning the war against terror in Gaza, only 14 percent thought Israel was responsible for the violence compared with 44 percent who blamed Hamas. The terrorist organization also was blamed more than Israel for the use of excessive force.

Forty-five percent of the respondents said that the United States should not favor a new PA state, while 31 percent stated that it should.