Half of Britons believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, poll finds
Oliver Mizzi reports in The New Arab on 7 July 2026:
At least half of the British public believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, according to a new poll released on Tuesday, with majorities also backing tougher sanctions against Israel and distancing Britain from its longstanding ally.
The YouGov survey, commissioned by the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), found that 50% of respondents believe Israel’s military campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide, compared with 17% who do not.
The poll, conducted between 2 and 3 July among 2,125 adults, also found that 55% believe the UK should not be allied with Israel, while only 15% said it should.
“The main takeaway is simply that increasingly British public opinion and the positions of the British government are polar opposites,” Chris Doyle, director of CAABU, told The New Arab. “We also see throughout this latest poll that the British public is keener to see action to stop what Israel is doing, be it a full arms embargo, not the partial one we have, be it a ban on settlement trade, be it sanctions against Israeli ministers,” he added.
The survey found broad support for a range of measures against Israel.
Almost half of respondents (48%) backed a ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, compared with 16% who opposed it. Another 49% supported banning the sale or marketing of settlement properties in the UK, while 15% opposed such a measure.
The findings come after an Israeli property fair in Edgware promoting homes in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank sparked protests and calls for a police investigation.