WASHINGTON – A new poll in the United States shows that the American public is split along party lines in its approach to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the Gallup poll, 64 percent of Republicans have a favorable view of Netanyahu, while only 17 percent of Democrats have a favorable view of him.

The split serves as further evidence of a growing partisan gap in the United States on issues relating to Israel.

According to the poll, which was released on Tuesday, Netanyahu is arguably the most popular world leader among Republicans. The poll asked respondents about their views on a number of world leaders, and among Republicans, Netanyahu received the highest percentage of favorable responses. Among Democrats, meanwhile, he was one of the least popular, with only North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Putin receiving less favorable responses.

Among all respondents, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the most popular leader – 48 percent of respondents had a favorable view of him. British PM Theresa May came in second with 46 percent. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was viewed favorably by 39 percent of respondents, and Netanyahu by 37 percent. Putin, who came in fifth, lagged far behind with 13 percent who viewed him favorably.

While there were significant gaps between how all the leaders were viewed by supporters of the two largest political parties, that gap was the widest with regards to Netanyahu. May, for example, was viewed favorably by 48 percent of Republicans and 54 percent of Democrats. Trudeau was viewed favorably by 30 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of Democrats. Merkel – by 27 percent of Republicans and 53 percent of Democrats.