Caabu Press Release: 50% of the British population believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza
7 July 2026
A YouGov opinion poll commissioned by Caabu shows that 50% of the British public believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Only 17% believe Israel is not committing genocide. (full results at bottom of this page in attachment).
Commenting on this, Caabu Director Chris Doyle observed that “Whoever replaces Keir Starmer in No 10 should be aware that 67% of Labour voters in 2024 believe Israel is committing genocide. This strength of public opinion should be ignored no longer.”
The question of whether Israel has been committing genocide has been an issue of huge contention not least since the International Court of Justice determined on 26 January 2024 that there were plausible grounds to believe Israel was committing genocide. This is one of the most serious violations of international law. In addition, many genocide experts and lawyers have reached a conclusion that Israel is committing genocide. A UN Commission of Inquiry found in September 2025 that Israel was committing genocide and further confirmed this in a report issued in June 2026.
As yet, the British government has denied that Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza. It does not even state that Israel has violated international law there, only that there is a risk that Israel is doing so.
Other findings in the Caabu poll conducted on 2 and 3 July 2026 showed that just under half of those polled (48%) supported a settlement trade ban. 55% believed that the UK should no longer consider Israel as an ally, whilst just 15% believed the UK should be an ally of Israel.
The poll showed that amongst those who voted Labour in 2024, the figures were much higher – 62% supported a settlement trade ban, and 72% supported a suspension of arms sales to Israel (there is currently a partial suspension).
Yet again, this poll demonstrates the huge chasm between the position of the government and the electorate on the issue of Israel-Palestine. Whilst the government hesitates to take the minimum action required to tackle Israeli atrocities, the public increasingly expect to see the UK taking action to hold Israel to account.
Caabu’s Head of Parliamentary Affairs, Joseph Willits stated that:
“An immediate and complete settlement trade ban is the bare minimum requirement expected of a new administration, one demanded by UK Parliamentarians and the public alike.
It’s time to send a strong signal to Israel and its supporters that these illegal settlements have to end, and also that the perpetrators of genocide are undeserving of allyship.
The public know this and have consistently demanded consequences. It’s time the UK government did too.”
Ends...
Notes to editors:
- For more information or interviews contact Chris Doyle on +44 (0)7968 040281
- For earlier opinion polls that Caabu and partners have commissioned please see here:
https://www.caabu.org/advocacy/opinion-polls - All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,125 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd - 3rd July 2026. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
