Home Correspondent
Most Britons think there should be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to UK arms sales to Israel, according to a new poll commissioned by Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu).
The YouGov poll, released on May 17 following six months of escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, revealed that 55% of respondents support the UK halting arms sales to Israel for the duration of the conflict. In stark contrast, only 13% favour continuing arms sales.
The survey revealed a partisan gap on backing continuous arms sales to Israel, with relatively modest figures. Among 2019 Tory supporters, 40% endorse halting UK arms sales to Israel, while 24% are against it. Conversely, a notable 74% of Labour supporters Favor the halt, with just 7% in opposition.
The results corroborate earlier YouGov polls from March and April, illustrating consistent backing for halting arms sales, especially in light of the recent tensions between Israel and Iran. The poll revealed that 73% of people are in favour of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. This includes 67% of those who voted Conservative in 2019 and 86% amongst Labour. Only 8% oppose a ceasefire.
While the Government and major opposition parties have now endorsed an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza, international pressure including from the UK has so far failed to achieve this.
Low public approval for the Government and Labour’s handling of the Gaza crisis was also found. Only 18% of people polled approve of the Government’s response, while even fewer, just 12%, approve of the response from Labour.
Coming after UN human rights experts and the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza may plausibly amount to genocide, these findings illustrate the continued failure of political leaders in the UK to adequately address this situation in the eyes of the British public.
As Israel expands its operation in Rafah, against the warnings of the UN and humanitarian agencies, the UK must do much to uphold its obligations under international law and to properly reflect the view of the British public, who are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the UK response.
Rohan Talbot, MAP’s Director of Advocacy, said, “Seven months of Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment and siege have wrought the worst humanitarian crisis ever seen in Gaza. In recent days, Israeli forces’ escalating attacks on Rafah and the North have further displaced hundreds of thousands more people, many of them for the second or third time, and pushed humanitarian operations to the brink of total collapse.
The feeling among the British public reaffirms the demands of humanitarians: UK leaders must do more to end the killing in Gaza, including halting arms sales so they cannot be used in further violations of international law.”
“What this and earlier polls continue to demonstrate is that the government and the Labour leadership continue to lag sluggishly behind British public opinion by failing to take the decisive actions needed to help bring the horrors we see in Gaza to a swift end a trend also highlighted in polls across Europe.
There is little confidence in the leadership of both the main parties in the handling of this major international crisis,” said Caabu Director, Chris Doyle,
Although the UK voted in favour of an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza at the UN Security Council, it is notable that arms sales to the region from the UK have persisted.
The conflict in Gaza, led by Israel, has inflicted devastating casualties, with over 35,000 Palestinians killed and 80,000 injured since October 7.
(Credit: Christina Erasmus/Flickr CC)
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