UK majority distrusts Israel to act responsibly on global stage

The Gaza conflict has led to a majority of Britons having “very high levels of distrust” in Israel’s ability to act responsibly in the world, a survey has found.

More than half believe that the UK should also increase its aid to Palestine and almost the same number wanted an arms exports ban on Israel, the British Foreign Policy Group (BFPG) annual survey said.

While the Labour government has moved away from the Conservatives' largely unquestioning support for Israel, the survey showed that almost a third of Britons believed the country’s stance had had a negative impact on its international reputation.

However, the poll was done just before the new government announced a partial arms export ban on Israel suggesting that the decision to suspend arms sales “therefore brings government policy closer in line with public opinion”.

The poll came out on Thursday the day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised the British government for sending “mixed messages” over its support for Israel and undermining the country’s right to self-defence.

“After the October 7 Hamas massacre, the previous British government was clear in its support,” Mr Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, the current government is sending mixed messages."

Israeli distrust

With the conflict in the Middle East at the centre of global politics, the BFPG poll found that 62 per cent of Britons had a very high distrust of Israel acting responsibly in global affairs, while Russia was regarded as the most distrustful by 82 per cent. Just 16 per cent said they trusted Israel.

Almost three quarters of Britons want an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and more than half of Britons support the UK increasing aid to Gaza, with just 19 per cent of Britons opposed to this.

The conflict has also led to a plurality (43 per cent) who support recognising a Palestinian state and there was significant opposition to increasing military aid to Israel, with half of Britons opposed, while just one in five supported it.

Britain reconnected

The conflict in the Middle East has led to significant domestic debate, with widespread protests and four pro-Gaza independent MPs winning seats in the general election.

The war, along with the US presidential race, has led to a “spike” in foreign policy interest. The election of a new Labour government also brought the “opportunity for the UK to redefine its position in the world”, the London-based think tank said.

Labour’s broad ambitions for UK foreign policy was found in the slogan “Britain Reconnected”. Under the mantra of ‘progressive realism’, Prime Minister Keir Starmer planned to strengthen Britain’s credibility “as a trustworthy, generous and reliable international partner”.

The poll found that nearly half (49 per cent) felt that the change in government had had a “positive effect on the UK’s reputation overseas”.

However, concerns about geopolitical conflict did not translate into significant support for increased spending on defence or international development over the National Health Service or education.

Instead, security would depend on its alliances with the US and Europe and people “now overwhelmingly support co-operation with the EU” across a wide range of areas.

There is therefore “some trepidation” over the possibility of a second Donald Trump presidential term with 54 per cent believing it would have “a negative effect on global security”.

Brexit reset

Mr Starmer’s ambition to “reset” UK-EU relations and deepen ties across a broad range of issues, including trade, climate and security, “would have been deeply divisive just a few years ago” during the Brexit debate.

But with Ukraine being the first major war in Europe since 1945 and the economic challenges that have emerged from Brexit, “there is a very strong basis of support” for resetting the UK-EU relationship.

Three quarters felt the UK should co-operate with Europe to reduce irregular migration, barriers to trade in goods and services and joint scientific research.

Given the direction of world events, when asked on a scale of one to 10 of how safe they feel in the world the average score was 5.77, meaning that Britons were “slightly more towards feeling safe than unsafe”.