Most Americans support Israel, but not in Lebanon

Only 27 percent of Americans condone Israel's invasion of Lebanon, but most US citizens continue to support the Jewish state in its struggle with the Arab nations, a Los Angeles Times survey concluded.

Of the 1,102 people polled, half said their sympathies were more with the Israelis than with the Arabs; 19 percent sided with the Arabs. The rest were neutral or had no opinion.

While support for Israel remained fairly steady this year, the American public's view of Prime Minister Menachem Begin has soared since January, the poll found. He got a 43 percent favorable rating in January, 53 percent in March , and 60 percent this month. The Palestine Liberation Organization got uniformly negative reviews: Only 9 percent of those polled were favorable to the PLO, 83 percent unfavorable.