“By continuing to arm and support Israel even as it enacts a genocide and a policy of forced starvation, the British government is holding on to an increasingly fringe position, completely out of sync with public opinion, and with the views of those who supported it at the last Election.”
Ben Jamal, Palestine Solidarity Campaign Director
By the Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Bombshell new polling conducted by Opinium, on behalf of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, has revealed strong majorities in favour of a full arms embargo and sanctions on Israel. Respondents supported a full arms embargo on Israel by over 4 to 1. This includes 72% of those who voted for the Labour Party in the 2024 General Election.
There were also clear majorities in favour of sanctions against Israeli government ministers and for Israel to be expelled from the United Nations, with only 16% of respondents opposed to Israel’s expulsion.
The poll also showed strong support for BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions), with respondents supporting local government pension scheme divestment from companies complicit in Israel’s violations of international law by over 3 to 1. Following the vote at the AGM of the Co-op to cease all trade with Israel, respondents supported supermarkets taking Israeli goods off the shelves by 2 to 1.
Thousands of Palestine solidarity activists will surround Parliament with a red line on Wednesday 4th June at 12:00, when Prime Minister’s Questions will be taking place in the Commons. The kilometre-long red fabric they will be holding symbolises the demand for the UK to finally take meaningful action on the Gaza genocide by stopping all military support to and imposing sanctions on Israel.
There has been growing condemnation of Israel’s actions as it continues to bombard the Gaza Strip on a daily basis, destroying the infrastructure essential to life, having already killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, including approximately 20,000 children. For nearly 3 months Israel imposed a total blockade preventing all humanitarian assistance resulting in deaths by starvation, widespread malnutrition and hunger amongst 2.3 million people. Israel has now imposed a severely limited and militarised aid operation, condemned by international aid organisations, that has resulted in scores of Palestinians being shot dead as they search for food.
In the UK there have been urgent calls for action on the government from MPs and peers from all parties. Last week 828 UK-based legal experts, among them former Supreme Court justices, signed a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warning that “genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza“. They said the UK and all countries were legally obliged to “prevent and punish genocide” but “the UK’s actions to date have failed to meet those standards.” They called on the UK to impose trade sanctions and suspend the UK’s ‘2030 Roadmap’ with Israel – an agreement on defence, technology and other areas.
Despite Foreign Secretary David Lammy calling Israel’s latest offensive “morally unjustifiable” in a Commons statement two weeks ago, the UK government has failed to recognise Israel’s actions as constituting genocide, and continues to provide a range of military, diplomatic and economic support to Israel. The legality of the UK’s decisions concerning arms sales to Israel is now being examined by the High Court of England and Wales.
Ben Jamal, PSC Director, said:
“The polling released this morning speaks to Israel’s growing isolation and the significant public support for sanctions. By continuing to arm and support Israel even as it enacts a genocide and a policy of forced starvation, the British government is holding on to an increasingly fringe position, completely out of sync with public opinion, and with the views of those who supported it at the last Election. Those bringing the demand for an arms embargo to Parliament today in a symbolic red line are doing so knowing that the demand is supported by the majority of their fellow citizens.”
- The polling can be found in full here.
- You can follow the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, Bluesky, YouTube and TikTok.
- This article is based on a press release issued by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign on 3rd June 2025.
