More than 100 days since the Oct. 7 attacks and Israel has given no sign of letting up in its ruthless bombardment of Gaza. It is hard to encapsulate the horror Palestinians are enduring, but we have reached a situation where, in Gaza, there are four times more people starving, some 500,000, than in the rest of the world put together. Israel has been killing an average of 250 Palestinians a day — a higher daily death rate than any other 21st-century armed conflict. It has reached the stage where a credible and powerful legal argument has been presented at the International Court of Justice that Israel is perpetrating genocide against Palestinians. One would normally assume that the world, both governments and publics alike, would be fully outraged and appalled at such atrocities, but that is not the case. Governments have largely determined their positions. The overwhelming majority of states support an immediate ceasefire. The US and other backers of Israel, which do not, are looking truly isolated. But where does global public opinion stand on this? Are the political classes in line with their publics on the issue? The overwhelming majority of states support an immediate ceasefire. The backers of Israel are looking truly isolated Chris Doyle Prior to Oct. 7, Israel would attract most support in the US. In a May 2023 poll, 29 percent of Americans sympathized more with Israel than the Palestinians, with the figure being 17 percent in Germany. It was only 10 percent in the UK. Among the major European states, Spain was the most supportive of Palestinians at 31 percent, compared to just 15 percent in the US. Now, on the issue of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, it appears that a massive majority is in favor, even in states where the government strongly backs Israel. US public opinion is obviously crucial. A mid-November poll determined that 68 percent of Americans thought Israel should call a ceasefire. What was interesting was the party split. Three-quarters of Democrats supported a ceasefire, as opposed to half of Republicans, echoing a trend of more Democrats being favorable to the Palestinians. In the UK, an opinion poll carried out toward the end of December showed that 71 percent of the population supported an immediate ceasefire, following a similar figure in another poll in October. Conversely, only 12 percent thought there should not be a ceasefire. In a November poll, 81 percent of Canadians supported an immediate ceasefire, but the poll also found a significant amount of sympathy for Israel. One should expect fairly high numbers supporting a ceasefire in most wars. Many people would want to see an end to the carnage. The real question is why their governments do not agree. Why are they not aligned with the popular mood? What about the overall trend in support of Israel? Do American and European publics think that Israel has acted legitimately? In the US in mid-October, 41 percent agreed “the US should support Israel,” but this dropped to about 32 percent a month later. The latter poll showed that 39 percent supported the US acting as a neutral mediator. The level of US support for Israel was found to be higher than during Israel’s last major ground invasion of Gaza in 2014. The slight decline in support for Israel as the conflict has continued is mirrored in other countries, such as Australia. One trend that has been evident for a while is greater support for Palestinians among the youth in Europe and the US. Older generations, perhaps more influenced by memories of the Second World War, tend to be more favorable to Israeli positions. Among the young, the issue of Palestine has often become a cause celebre. University campuses in Europe and the US have, for some time, been bastions of support for the pro-Palestinian rights movement. It is where Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaigns against Israel are at their strongest. Might this mean that Israel will have a greater public relations problem in years to come? Possibly. It would explain why the Israeli state and supportive organizations put so much effort into public relations and propaganda. Israeli leaders know that this matters. What about public opinion in the Middle East? Many Western armchair pundits have, for many years, been arguing that the “Arab Street” — a dreadful expression — was no longer concerned about Palestinian rights. This was always wishful thinking rather than being based on reality. An opinion poll that this month surveyed 8,000 people in 16 Arab countries found an incredible 97 percent saying they had suffered from psychological stress as a result of the war on Gaza. Some 84 percent termed it a time of great psychological stress. No doubt many of those watching may have themselves suffered in the recent conflicts that have blighted countries like Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Libya and Lebanon. The apocalyptic scenes in Gaza will be a painful reminder of other conflicts. Genocidal statements from Israel leaders are hardly calming. But it also shows that Arabs are generally terrified about where this will all end. Will there even be a future for Palestinians in Gaza? The conflict has already spread to the Red Sea and tensions and strikes between Israel and Hezbollah have increased. It may not be a huge surprise that 92 percent of Arabs are in solidarity with Palestinians or that 94 percent perceive the US negatively in light of its massive support for Israel. Will this affect the Biden administration’s thinking? It should do. Many European states also have to consider the chasm between their position and those of nations in the Global South. One trend that has been evident for a while is greater support for Palestinians among the youth in Europe and the US Chris Doyle Arab governments have called for a ceasefire and back the South African case at the International Court of Justice. Clearly, there is a strong awareness of the public mood in their states. It is a particularly potent issue in neighboring states, not least those with large Palestinian refugee populations, such as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The leaders in many Western states are increasingly out of alignment with their citizens. Will this make a difference? Some in the US, including Arab Americans, claim they can no longer vote for Biden. In the UK, many British Muslims and others will not vote for either the Conservatives or the Labour Party. Many election strategists in both countries envisioned the Gaza crisis lasting far less than 100 days and assumed that the public would soon get distracted and forget about the horrors of Gaza. That is far less likely to be the case now. Public opinion may not always be right. Indeed, in the US and Europe, ignorance about the Middle East in general remains at dangerous levels. But the political classes are no better informed and should give far more consideration to why they are out of line with their own publics and most of global opinion. Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in London. X: @Doylech