A majority of Swiss voters would favour recognising Palestine as a sovereign state, according to a new survey by the polling institute Sotomo. Some 57% of respondents said they were in favour, or somewhat in favour, of such a move, reported RTS.
Support cuts across age groups, education levels, linguistic regions and gender. It is strongest among voters of the Greens and the Socialist Party, and weakest among supporters of the Swiss People’s Party.
Public opinion is also broadly favourable towards offering medical treatment in Switzerland to 20 wounded children from Gaza, something arranged recently. Around 65% of those surveyed backed the proposal. Here, too, majority support spans all major demographic groups.
By contrast, the reluctance of some cantons—notably Zurich and Fribourg, the latter having since reversed its position—is widely misunderstood. Overall, 52% of respondents said they did not understand the opposition. Scepticism is more pronounced in French-speaking Switzerland than in the German-speaking regions.
Internationally, the diplomatic tide has been shifting. Since September, several Western countries, including France, Britain, Portugal, Belgium and Canada, have recognised Palestine as a state. By the end of that month, 158 of the United Nations’ 193 member states had done so.
Switzerland remains among the holdouts, alongside the United States, Germany, Italy and Israel. Just over a month ago, a national committee of 26 members—bringing together civil-society figures, legal experts and left-leaning politicians—launched a popular initiative calling for Switzerland to follow suit. The organisers have 18 months to gather at least 100,000 signatures before a national referendum can be held.
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RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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