Elham Asaad Buaras
A significant majority of the British public support a full arms embargo on Israel and the imposition of sanctions, according to new polling by Opinium released on June 4.
Commissioned by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), the survey reveals that more than four times as many Britons support halting arms sales to Israel as oppose it.
Among those who voted Labour in the 2024 general election, support for an embargo rises to 72%.
The findings suggest growing public disapproval of UK military and diplomatic support for Israel amid its ongoing assault on Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 60,000 Palestinians, including around 20,000 children, according to Gaza health officials.
The poll also found clear majority support for a range of other measures against Israel. Over three times as many respondents supported local government pension schemes divesting from companies complicit in Israel’s violations of international law as opposed such action. A two-to-one majority favoured removing Israeli goods from supermarket shelves.
In one of the starkest results, just 16% of respondents opposed expelling Israel from the UN — indicating that a large segment of the British public is prepared to back punitive international action. Sanctions against individual Israeli government ministers also received majority backing, while the broader Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement — long controversial among political leaders — appears to enjoy considerable popular support.
The polling comes amid mounting legal and political scrutiny over the UK’s arms exports to Israel.
The High Court is currently reviewing whether British military sales to Israel are compatible with international law, particularly in the context of allegations that Israel is committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza.
Ben Jamal, Director of the PSC, said the data underscores the scale of the shift in public opinion, “This polling speaks to Israel’s growing international isolation and the strong public consensus in favour of sanctions. The British government is increasingly out of step with the people it represents, clinging to a policy that supports military ties with a state accused of committing atrocities.”
The release of the poll results coincides with a day of protests in Westminster, where thousands of activists formed a symbolic “red line” around Parliament to press the UK government to end arms exports and adopt a tougher stance on Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Photo: Gaza – Stop the Massacre – Protest in London’s Trafalgar Square, November 4, 2023 (Credit: Wiki Commons)
