Poll Reveals Majority of Germans' Position on Recognizing a Palestinian State

During a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Germany

Poll Reveals Majority of Germans' Position on Recognizing a Palestinian State

An opinion poll has revealed that the majority of Germans support recognizing a Palestinian state, something the German government currently rejects. In the poll, conducted by the Forsa Institute for Opinion Research and commissioned by the German magazine Internationale Politik, 54% of respondents answered "yes" to the question "Should Germany now recognize Palestine as an independent state?" Another 31% answered "no."

The poll, conducted at the end of July, included 1,001 Germans, according to the German news agency DPA. In eastern Germany, support was slightly higher, at 59%, compared to 53% in western Germany. The percentage was higher than the average among those aged 18 to 29 (60%), and 58% among those over 60.

Regarding party affiliations, the highest support for recognizing Palestine was among supporters of the Left Party (85%). It reached 66% among supporters of the Green Party and 52% among supporters of the Social Democratic Party, the ruling coalition partner. Support was particularly low among supporters of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) (48%) and supporters of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party (45%).

While the German government sees the future of Israelis and Palestinians in a two-state solution in which both sides can live peacefully side by side, it believes that recognizing Palestine under international law represents only the final stage of negotiations toward this solution.