Most Britons back ban on ‘Israeli’ settlement imports, poll finds

• Green and Labour voters back the sanctions most strongly, with even Conservative approval narrowly outweighing disapproval

A majority of British adults support the UK government’s decision to ban imports of goods from ‘Israeli’ settlements in the West Bank, according to a YouGov survey released on Wednesday.

The poll, conducted the same day among 4,506 UK adults, found that 52 percent of respondents approve of the ban. Thirty-three percent said they “completely” approve, while a further 19 percent said they “somewhat” approve.

On the other side, 10 percent said they “completely disapprove” and 7 percent “somewhat disapprove” of the measure, which has also been backed by 11 other countries. Thirty-one percent said they did not know.

Approval splits sharply along party lines

The breakdown by political affiliation shows support for the ban is far from uniform.

Green Party supporters were the most enthusiastic, with 82 percent in favour overall, 59 percent completely approving and 23 percent somewhat approving, the highest backing of any group polled.

Labour supporters were close behind, with 69 percent total approval (47 percent completely, 22 percent somewhat).

Conservative supporters were far more divided. Only 38 percent approved in total , 17 percent completely and 21 percent somewhat, narrowly ahead of 34 percent who disapproved (22 percent completely, 12 percent somewhat). Twenty-seven percent of Conservative supporters said they did not know.

Reform supporters registered the highest disapproval of any group surveyed, at 46 percent, with 31 percent saying they did not know.

The government’s announcement

The poll follows Tuesday’s announcement by the British government, which recognised the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, declared the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory illegal, and unveiled sanctions on ‘Israeli’ settlements alongside a ban on arms licences and other exports judged to “materially contribute to the occupation.”

Eleven other countries, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, joined Britain in a statement confirming their intention to introduce national or European restrictions on trade in settlement goods deemed illegal under international law, or to actively consider such measures.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament that the British government now holds the view that the occupation is unlawful “because of Israel’s entrenchment of its control, its intention to extend permanent sovereignty and its expansionist agenda via illegal settlements” , a position that aligns with the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion, which found the occupation unlawful and placed a duty on states to oppose it.

Miliband said the government agrees there is “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank perpetrated by settler terrorists,” adding that the ‘Israeli’ government has too often “turned a blind eye to this, and worse.”

‘Israel’ responded by barring 11 British MPs from entering the country. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said ‘Israel’ would also close its British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem, remove British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center, and end British training of Palestinian forces.