A recent survey revealed that most Germans oppose sending more weapons to Israel. The survey, conducted for two German media outlets, was published on Tuesday.
According to the poll, 60% of respondents are against exporting arms to Israel, while 31% support it, and 9% remain undecided.
The survey was conducted by the “Forsa” Institute on behalf of the magazine Stern and the radio station RTL Germany. It was carried out via phone interviews on October 17 and 18, with a sample size of 1,007 participants and a margin of error of ±3%.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently reaffirmed in a speech to the Bundestag that Germany is committed to supplying Israel with weapons. He stated, “There are ongoing deliveries, and there will always be future deliveries. Israel can rely on that.”
However, it remains unclear whether any arms deliveries are currently underway. From March to mid-August of this year, no weapons were sent from Germany to Israel.
Chancellor Scholz also emphasized the importance of continuing humanitarian aid to Gaza and called for adherence to international law amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. He reiterated the need for a two-state solution.
The survey revealed varying levels of support for arms exports to Israel among supporters of different political parties. Among voters of the governing parties, opposition outweighed support, with 60% of Social Democratic Party (SPD) voters and 52% of Free Democratic Party (FDP) voters opposing arms exports to Israel.
Among Green Party supporters, 50% opposed the exports, while 56% of voters from the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) also voiced their opposition.
The strongest opposition came from voters of the populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, with 85% against sending arms, followed by 75% of voters from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
