Fr., Nov. 17th 2023
According to a survey, the Swiss are divided when it comes to the question of responsibility in the current Middle East conflict. However, there is clear support for Israel’s right to self-defense, the cessation of aid and a ban on Hamas – but also for a humanitarian ceasefire.
In the Sotomo study commissioned by “Blick” and published on Friday, 40 percent of Swiss respondents see the responsibility in the current Middle East conflict clearly or rather on the Palestinian side, 33 percent on the Israeli side. Around a quarter, or 27 percent, see both sides as equally responsible.
There is clear support for Israel’s right to self-defense: 72% agree with the statement that Israel definitely or rather has the right to fight Hamas in the Gaza Strip by military means. Only 28 percent disagree. At the same time, 58% agree or somewhat agree with the Swiss support for the UN resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire, while 36% disagree or somewhat disagree.
Around two thirds of respondents (67%) believe that the disbursement of Swiss aid to the Palestinian territories should be suspended for the time being. On the other hand, 84% of respondents believe that the Palestinians have a right to their own state.
Opinions also differ when it comes to sympathy for the groups of people involved: a narrow majority of 52% have positive feelings for the population in Israel, while only 24% have a negative view of the Israelis. 24 percent are in between in their assessment.
At the same time, the population in the Gaza Strip also experiences support: 45 percent have positive feelings towards it, 30 percent have negative feelings and a quarter are undecided.
Opinions are clearer when it comes to those in power and the extreme groups on both sides: 62 percent have a negative or somewhat negative attitude towards the Israeli government and only just 18 percent have a positive or somewhat positive attitude. The settlers in the West Bank also enjoy little sympathy: 66 percent of respondents have very negative or negative feelings towards them, while 15 percent have positive or somewhat positive feelings.
The rejection of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, is even clearer: 92% have a negative or somewhat negative attitude towards them, while only 3% have sympathy for the organization. Accordingly, 80 percent are in favor of a ban on Hamas in Switzerland. 70% of respondents are in favor of a ban on demonstrations in Switzerland where anti-Semitic slogans are expected.
In addition, over half of those surveyed believe that they can no longer freely express their opinion on the Middle East war in Switzerland: 33% stated that criticism of Israel is no longer possible, while 18% believe that criticism of Palestine cannot be voiced. 7 percent said they did not know.
The opinion research institute Sotomo surveyed 16,157 voters in German- and French-speaking Switzerland from 10 to 15 November via “blick.ch”. The so-called confidence interval is +/- 2.6 percentage points.
©Keystone/SDA
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