By Ian Dunt

Nearly half of politics.co.uk users feel more sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians following the conflict in Gaza, an on-site survey has revealed.

In a highly polarised set of results, a slim majority respondents sided with the Palestinians, with 49 per cent saying they felt more pro-Palestinian since the fighting started.

That compared to 41 per cent who said they felt more pro-Israeli.

Forty-four per cent of respondents described the Israeli attack as a war crime. Thirty-five described it as 'necessary'.

Eight per cent described it as proportionate, the exact same figure as those who said it was disproportionate.

Personalities in the Israeli leadership and Hamas itself emerged badly, with Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, earning only two per cent sympathy, and Hamas getting four per cent.

The results remained split - but tilted towards the Palestinians - when politics.co.uk users were asked how the UK should have responded to the crisis.

Forty per cent called on the government to publicly criticise Israel. That compared to 23 per cent who wanted the UK to support Israel diplomatically, and even topped the number of people calling for the government to work toward ceasefire arrangements, at 28 per cent.

But users seemed to blame Hamas for the conflict. Forty per cent said they were responsible, while only 34 per cent blamed Israel. Twenty-six per cent of people blamed both of them.

The poll comes as Gazans begin returning to their homes to discover the true scale of destruction caused by Israel's three week campaign against the territory.

The fragile ceasefires declared over the weekend appeared to have held as Israeli troops continued to withdraw from key points towards the border.

The United Nations, however, has warned the cost of rebuilding the Palestinian territory after the conflict may reach billions of dollars.

UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon travelled to Gaza yesterday to inspect the destruction.

Tens of thousands of people are said to have been left homeless with almost half a million currently suffering from a lack of running water. Estimates suggest at least 1,300 Palestinians died in the 22 day conflict launched by Israel last month, with over 5,000 more injured.

During the weekend, Israel declared a ceasefire claiming it had met its military objectives, followed a day later by the Palestinian militant group Hamas which declared a seven-day truce of their own, allowing Israeli soldiers to pull out from the region.