Poll: Swiss divided over Israeli-Palestinian war

Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building following an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, November 12, 2023. Keystone / Haitham Imad

A survey shows that the Swiss are divided over the responsibility for the current conflict in the Middle East. While a majority support “Israel's right to defend itself”, the suspension of aid and a ban on Hamas, most want a humanitarian ceasefire.

According to a survey by the Sotomo institute, commissioned by the Blick newspaper, 40% of Swiss respondents say responsibility for the current conflict in the Middle East lies “clearly” or “fairly clearly” with the Palestinian side, while 33% said it is “clearly” or “fairly clearly” with the Israeli side. Around a quarter (27%) believe that both sides bear equal responsibility.

A total of 72% believe Israel has a right to defend itself and reply militarily in Gaza following the Hamas attack on October 7.

At the same time, 58% say Switzerland’s approval of the United Nations resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire is “fair” or “quite fair”. A minority of 36% say it is “wrong” or “quite wrong”.

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Around two-thirds of those questioned (67%) thought Switzerland should temporarily suspend financial aid to the Palestinian occupied territories. However, the vast majority (84%) believe that the Palestinians have the right to their own state (the so-called “two-state solution”).

Sympathy for the people

Opinions on the two populations involved were relatively balanced: 52% of participants had “very positive” or “fairly positive” feelings towards the Israeli population, while 24% had “very negative” or “negative” feelings. A quarter (24%) were in between.

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As regards the Gaza Strip, 45% of respondents said they had “very positive” or “fairly positive” feelings towards the Palestinians living there, while 30% had “very negative” or “fairly negative” feelings. A quarter (25%) were in between.

No sympathy for Hamas

But opinions were clear-cut regarding the leaders and groups on both sides: 62% have negative feelings towards the current Israeli government, compared with 18% who say they have positive feelings. Reactions to settlers in the West Bank were negative among 66% of respondents.

The rejection of Hamas, which is in power in the Gaza Strip, was categorical: 92% of those surveyed had negative feelings about its leaders and the organisation, while 3% had “fairly positive” feelings.

The majority (80%) were in favour of Switzerland banning Hamas. Also, 70% of those questioned thought demonstrations in Switzerland be banned when anti-Semitic symbols and slogans are likely to be shown.

Over half of those polled believe it is no longer possible to freely express an opinion on the war in the Middle East in Switzerland: 33% feel that criticism of Israel is no longer free, and 18% feel the same about criticism of Palestine. However, 42% say opinions on the Middle East conflict can be expressed freely in Switzerland.

The Sotomo institute conducted its online survey among 16,157 eligible Swiss voters in German- and French-speaking Switzerland between November 10-15 via the blick.ch website. The margin of error is /- 2.6 percentage points.

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