How UK support for Israel and Palestine has changed over six months of war

Six months into the war between Israel and Hamas, public opinion here in the UK has shifted greatly.

The militant group’s cross-border raid that claimed 1,200 Israeli lives on October 7 plunged the region into a brutal war which has since seen 30,000 Palestinians – including an estimated 14,500 children – killed.

Each Saturday since the war began, thousands of protesters have been taking to the streets in capital cities around the world, including London.

Now a mass humanitarian crisis has been declared as those Gazans left in the strip are starving and increasingly besieged.

A recent Israeli attack which killed seven aid workers – three Britons, a Palestinian, an Australian, a Pole and a dual US-Canadian citizen – sparked outrage as they were travelling in vehicles clearly marked with their charity logo.

And the strike has now further stoked discontent with the ongoing war in the United Kingdom.

What happened on October 7?

The opening salvo of the war between Hamas and Israel began with the Supernova music festival massacre in the southern Israeli desert.

Militants then moved into Israeli settlements dotted by the Gaza border, killing families and burning many alive.

The retaliation from Israel for the attacks has been unlike any previous conflict between the countries – with most of the Gaza Strip razed to the ground.

Two million Palestinians have been internally displaced in Gaza, and more than 17,500 children have lost one or both parents.

The brutal war has been ongoing for six months now, with no end in sight as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu aims to reach Rafah.

Since the beginning of the war, the UK has seen mass protests for both a ceasefire and release of Israeli hostages.

How has UK public support changed since October 7?

At the beginning of the conflict, 62% of Britons sympathised in some way with the Israelis, according to new data.

That number has decreased six months into the war – now measuring at just 53% sympathy for Israel.

Brits are now more likely to sympathise with Palestinians – a 13% increase from the low sympathy percentage of 15% reported initially after October 7.

But there is growing pressure on the government to suspend arms sales to Israel, with a letter signed by more than 600 lawyers, including former Supreme Court justices, warning it risks breaching international law.

They include former Supreme Court president Lady Hale, who said the worsening situation in Gaza and the International Court of Justice’s conclusion that there is a ‘plausible risk of genocide’ oblige the UK to suspend arms sales to the country.

Human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield KC said that ‘effectively, we’ve reached genocide already’.

The letter comes at a time when Sunak is facing increasing pressure from his own MPs to stop arming Israel.

Does the UK recognise Palestine?

The UK does not currently recognise Palestine as a legitimate state – but that stance could change, Lord David Cameron said.

Britain’s foreign secretary said in February that recognition of Palestine as an independent state could be considered as countries search for a peace agreement between Israel and Gaza.

He said in February: ‘What we need to do is give the Palestinian people a horizon towards a better future, the future of having a state of their own.’

Being recognised could allow Palestine to legally pursue legal avenues for human rights violations and atrocities.

Palestine has been a member of the International Criminal Court since 2015.

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