ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

A majority of Germans think Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, according to a recent YouGov poll.

The survey, which was conducted from September 17-18, found that 62% of all German voters believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. However, 17% disagree, and 21% declined to comment.

These numbers were further broken up on party lines, with a majority of voters for the SPD (71%), the Greens (71%), and Die Linke (79%) think Israel is committing genocide. This view was also held by a majority (60%) of voters of the CDU/CSU.

Even among the far-right AfD Party, a majority (56%) thought Israel was committing genocide.

These numbers come a month after a similar YouGov survey from the US, which found that 43% of Americans believed Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians. 

People hold a Palestinian flag, during a protest, on the day French President Emmanuel Macron was presented with the International Award of the Peace of Westphalia during his state visit, in Muenster, Germany, May 28, 2024.
People hold a Palestinian flag, during a protest, on the day French President Emmanuel Macron was presented with the International Award of the Peace of Westphalia during his state visit, in Muenster, Germany, May 28, 2024. (credit: Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)

Nearly half of Germans support Palestinian statehood

The other major finding of the poll was that close to half (44%) of Germans support recognizing Palestinian statehood.

However, only around a quarter (23%) of Germans actually opposed recognizing a Palestinian state, with a third (33%) saying they didn't know. 

This was also reflected in party lines, with a majority of Greens voters (61%) supporting recognition of a Palestinian state.

These findings further come amid a wave of Western nations recognizing Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly, with the UK, Canada, Portugal, Australia, and France all having done so.

However, Germany has come out against supporting Palestinian statehood at this time.

"A negotiated two-state solution remains our goal, even if it seems a long way off today. ... The recognition of Palestine is more likely to come at the end of such a process, and such decisions would now be rather counterproductive," a German government spokesperson in late August.

Reuters contributed to this report.