62% now view Arafat as terrorist

As the violence grows between Israel and the Palestinians, more Americans are viewing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as a terrorist rather than a responsible leader of a struggling people.

According to a new survey released by pollster Scott Rasmussen, 62 percent now believe Arafat himself is a terrorist, up from 51 percent when the latest violence escalated and 58 percent 10 days ago.

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"As Colin Powell returns from the region, only 12 percent of Americans believe the situation in the Middle East is better than it was a couple of weeks ago," Rasmussen said. "Thirty-eight percent say it has gotten worse, while 46 percent believe it has remained about the same."

In political terms, 71 percent of Republicans view Arafat as a terrorist, compared to 58 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of unaffiliated voters.

Meanwhile, 74 percent of American seniors view Arafat as a terrorist. "Among those 40-64 years old, 65 percent hold that view," says Rasmussen, while just 53 percent of Americans under 40 consider the Palestinian leader a terrorist.

In terms of U.S. leadership, 57 percent believe President Bush is handling the Mideast situation properly – a figure virtually unchanged from last week.

"However," the poll said, "while a majority favors neutrality, 50 percent believe the Bush administration is favoring Israel. Six percent say the White House is favoring the Palestinians, and 35 percent see our policy as neutral."

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"Generally speaking, Republicans are more likely to want support for Israel and to see the Bush policy as one of neutrality. Democrats and unaffiliateds are more likely to favor neutrality and see the Bush policy as favoring Israel," the poll said.

The data come from a national telephone survey of 1,000 adults conducted April 15-17. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is 3 percentage points, with a 95 percent level of confidence.

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Most in U.S. see Arafat as terrorist

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