Nearly three times as many Americans sympathise with Israel than with the Palestinians in the Middle East dispute, according to a new survey.

Half of all Americans think it would be possible for Israel and an independent Palestine to co-exist side-by-side. More than half (54 per cent) sympathise with Israel, compared to just 19 per cent on Palestine's side.

However, there has been a widening of divisions on both sides in recent years, on ideological, religious and generational grounds.

The main polarisation took place after the World Trade Centre terror attacks of 9/11.  Since then, and especially over the last decade, there has been a marked growth in sympathy for Israel.

Nearly eight in 10 conservative Republicans and nearly seven in 10 moderate and liberal Republicans favour Israel over Palestine, according to the latest report from Pew Research.

Conservative and moderate Democrats also lean towards Israel. Liberal Democrats, however, are more divided, with four out of 10 sympathising more with Palestinians and just a third with Israel.

Nearly eight in 10 white evangelical Protestants sympathise more with Israel and six in 10 white mainline Protestants and white Catholics.

Of all the groups, white evangelical Republicans are the most likely to support Israel.