Two weeks of military action in the Gaza Strip has done nothing to move public opinion in America.

Today, 56% of voters nationwide say that the Palestinians are to blame for the current situation in Gaza while 13% say the Israelis are at fault. Two weeks ago, a nationwide survey of adults found that 55% placed the blame on the Palestinians and 13% pointed the finger at Israel.

Forty-five percent (45%) say Israel should have taken military action against the Palestinians, little changed from 44% two weeks ago. Thirty-eight percent (38%) say that the Jewish nation should have tried harder to find a diplomatic solution, down slightly from 41% in the earlier survey.

As in the earlier survey, Republicans strongly agree with Israel while Democrats wish there had been more efforts at diplomacy. Forty-seven percent (47%) of unaffiliated voters support Israel’s military action while 36% would like to have seen more diplomatic efforts.

Looking ahead, 50% say Israel should agree to a truce now while 26% disagree.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? Sign up now. If it's in the news, it's in our polls).

The Israelis have stepped up their offensive against the radical Palestinian group Hamas with more troops pushing further into Gaza. Both Israel and Hamas have ignored a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, but European diplomats continue to work for a halt to the fighting. Israel is demanding an end to Hamas rocket and mortar fire from Gaza, while the Palestinians want open and internationally monitored borders for the area.

Fifty-three percent (53%) are at least somewhat confident in Barack Obama’s ability to deal with the situation in Gaza, including 25% who are Very Confident in the President-elect.

In the earlier survey, 52% of Americans said it is possible for Israel and the Palestinians to live in peace, but just 35% thought Obama is likely to help end the conflict during his presidency.

Obama remains in record high territory in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index.

The new survey was based on a sample of likely voters while the earlier survey was conducted among all adults. Therefore, results are not directly comparable. However, the broad similarity in data strongly suggests little has changed over the past two weeks.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of voters say they have followed news stories about the fighting in Gaza at least somewhat closely, with 41% following Very Closely. Only four percent (4%) say they are not following news about it at all.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free)… let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs are available to Premium Members only.