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Most Israelis think settlements policy should change to avoid more sanctions, poll finds

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editor, P. W. D. (2026, November 2). Most Israelis think settlements policy should change to avoid more sanctions, poll finds. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/nov/02/uk-trade-ban-west-bank-settlements-israel-election-poll

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The Guardian · collected 2026-11-02 · by Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

Quick Summary

A new poll conducted by the Israeli social research group aChord reveals that despite initial criticism, most Israelis believe their government’s settlements policy should change to prevent further sanctions. The survey found that three-quarters of supporters for Prime Minister Netanyahu did not let UK sanctions affect their voting behavior, yet 71% of voters for the opposition Change bloc think Israel should adjust its settlement policy to avoid international isolation and sanctions escalation. Support is particularly strong among Arab party voters, with a majority across all groups seeing the need for change to prevent international repercussions.
Written by AI on 2026-11-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A recent poll conducted by Israeli social research group aChord indicates that 63% of Israelis oppose the UK's ban on trade with goods from illegal settlements in the West Bank, while only 26% support or would consider supporting such measures. This comes after UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband imposed sanctions in September 2026. Despite opposition to the ban, a majority of Israelis believe their government’s policy towards settlements should change if it risks more international sanctions. The poll reflects growing concerns among Israeli voters about how foreign policies impact their national interests and suggests that such measures may not significantly influence election outcomes but could affect broader diplomatic relations.

Written for “Israeli Settlements Policy Poll” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Israeli Settlements Policy Poll
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 1 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles discuss different topics and contexts related to Israel's politics but do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence.”
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 4 of 37 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles discuss different aspects related to Israel's election, but describe distinct events: one focuses on the election results and political blocs, while the other covers a poll about Israeli public opinion regarding settlements policy.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 1 of 34 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Israel's political situation and do not describe the same specific incident or occurrence.”
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this Hedges 3 of 28 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Israel's relationship with other countries and do not describe the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2840 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
24 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 There had been fierce criticism of the UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband’s decision in September to impose a trade ban and wider sanctions on illegal settlements, with some claiming it would drive Israeli voters into the arms of Benjamin Netanyahu.
🔮 Officials from the Gulf states are “braced for the worst” as they wait for Washington’s response to an Iranian proposal that could reopen the strait of Hormuz before the US midterm elections on Tuesday.
🔮 Any US president would have had to address the Iran issue, itself a product of system failure, the inability of the multilateral system to incorporate and change Iran.
🔮 Iran would portray either a reduction or complete withdrawal of US forces from the Gulf region as “a strategic success and vindication of its steadfastness, but also use it to embarrass the Gulf states about their decades-long courtship of US protection”.
🔮 Vowing the people of Taiz would resist until the end, he said statements of solidarity were of no use and that what was needed was access for aid agencies, including the UN, to deliver supplies to the city.
🔮 Lingering hopes of averting a major new conflagration between Iran and the US soon after Tuesday’s midterm elections could rest on Iran’s response to a personal letter from the US vice-president, JD Vance, offering to restart diplomacy.
🔮 The US is aware of the talks’ progress but is holding out for a concession that European powers suggest could involve Iran allowing UN weapons inspectors back into the country.
🔮 Security officials and diplomats at Monday’s meeting were expected to discuss how Iran could persuade the Houthis in Yemen to end their crippling missile and drone attacks on infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
🔮 She has justified her late – but widely predicted – entry into the race on the grounds that the UN security council appears to be close to deadlock on the six remaining candidates in the race, with no one as yet able to establish a clear lead after six rounds of voting, the latest on 16 October.
🔮 Foreign ministers at a summit of eight European and Middle Eastern countries have urged the US and Israel not to renews their attacks on Iran, warning a fresh outbreak of fighting would spread conflict and push oil prices even higher.
Also by Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 24 articles by Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor →

Topics

Change Israel Israeli Israelis the West Bank

Subjects

Israel GPE · 7× Israeli NORP · 6× Israelis NORP · 4× Netanyahu PERSON · 4× the West Bank GPE · 3× Change ORG · 2× Benjamin Netanyahu PERSON · 1× Britain GPE · 1× Ed Miliband PERSON · 1× aChord ORG · 1×

Narrative

There is much less widespread support for the policy of banning the import of goods from the illegal settlement, with 63% of all those surveyed opposing the ban and 26% either supporting the measure outright, or saying they would if it were underlined that the ban would not apply to goods from outside settlements.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-02
🔮 There had been fierce criticism of the UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband’s decision in September to impose a trade ban and wider sanctions on illegal settlements, with some claiming it would drive Israeli voters into the arms of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Claims (20 extracted, 2 hedged)

The UK government’s decision to impose a ban on trade in goods from illegal settlements was not decisive in how Israelis voted in their general election, but a majority think the Israeli government’s settlements policy should change if it is going to lead to further sanctions, a new poll of Israelis shows. asserted
poll → impose → Israelis
There had been fierce criticism of the UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband’s decision in September to impose a trade ban and wider sanctions on illegal settlements, with some claiming it would drive Israeli voters into the arms of Benjamin Netanyahu. asserted
it → impose → Netanyahu
A survey last month by Israeli social research group aChord shows overall support for foreign sanctions on violent settlers in the West Bank, but there was little support for the UK’s ban on trade with goods from illegal settlements, with many fearing it would end up being extended across Israel. asserted
it → show → Israel
The survey is unique in showing how much the tougher line on Israel adopted by Britain and some foreign states was affecting the thinking of Israeli voters, and the extent to which Israelis thought it was a response to Israel’s actions or born of hostility to Israel, or even antisemitism. asserted
it → show → Israel
The survey showed that three-quarters of supporters of the bloc backing Netanyahu said UK sanctions and trade ban policies towards Israel did not affect their vote at all, and to the small extent that they changed anyone’s vote, they shifted voters both ways, leaving no detectable net effect. asserted
they → show → effect
Just over three-quarters of all those surveyed (76) – had heard of the UK government announcement on settlements, even if 18 % had only heard the broad headline. asserted
% → survey → headline
Four-fifths of those that were aware of the announcement knew that the policy applied to the West Bank, and not the whole of Israel. asserted
policy → know → Israel
Israel’s relations with the west were “important or very important” to 60% of the supporters of the Change bloc of parties backing Gadi Eisenkot in deciding their vote. asserted
relations → back → vote
But even then these relationships came fifth in importance in a proffered group of six motives for voting. asserted
relationships → come → voting
Only 30% of supporters of the Netanyahu bloc said relations with the west mattered in the same way. asserted
relations → say → way
But 71% of voters for the opposition Change bloc said the Israeli government should adapt its settlements policy to avoid an escalation of sanctions. asserted
government → say → sanctions
Only 14% of Netanyahu bloc voters agreed, most saying instead that the government should continue the policy “whatever the price”. asserted
price → agree → policy
A plurality of the public – 50% – said the settlement and construction policy in the West Bank should be adjusted to avoid sanctions escalation and international isolation, with 71% of Eisenkot bloc supporters agreeing to this proposition. asserted
% → say → proposition
The finding prompted Hannah Weisfeld, the director of the British-Jewish organisation Yachad, to claim the research “illustrates that the Israeli public certainly recognises that if there is not a policy shift in relation to settlement enterprise, the international community is likely to try to create an incentive to shift things from the outside. uncertain
community → prompt → outside
If anything, that highlights the importance of UK and other allies taking action that targets the occupation. asserted
that → highlight → occupation
The survey also showed that concerns about foreign sanctions are highest when voters feel they will suffer a high personal price. asserted
they → show → price
Only 36% of all those surveyed agreed that the settlement policy should continue even if sanctions on banks that finance construction in illegal settlements led either to higher interest rates, difficulties in transferring money abroad, or using credit cards abroad. asserted
that → survey → cards
The poll suggests that the more people feel they will be damaged personally, the more they oppose the settlement policy. uncertain
they → suggest → policy
A majority of all Israelis surveyed (52%) support sanctions on individual violent settlers, so long as the sanctions are imposed only on those acting violently, but 70% of Netanyahu bloc supporters oppose foreign sanctions in all circumstances. asserted
% → survey → circumstances
There is much less widespread support for the policy of banning the import of goods from the illegal settlement, with 63% of all those surveyed opposing the ban and 26% either supporting the measure outright, or saying they would if it were underlined that the ban would not apply to goods from outside settlements. asserted
ban → be → settlements
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