Nearly half of Britons say they would end friendships over differing views on 'Israel'-Palestine

• Nearly half of UK adults would consider ending friendships over differing views on 'Israel'-Palestine.
• 75 percent feel uncomfortable discussing the topic on social media.

A new poll reveals that nearly half of people in the UK would consider ending a friendship if they discovered a friend held opposing views on 'Israel'-Palestine.

The survey, conducted by polling company More In Common UK, questioned 2,000 people about whether differing opinions on 'Israel' and its treatment of Palestinians could strain personal relationships. Results showed that 43 percent of pro-Palestine respondents said they might sever ties, while 46 percent of pro-'Israel' respondents expressed the same sentiment.

The research also highlighted broader communication challenges: 75 percent of respondents reported feeling uncomfortable discussing the conflict on social media, and about three in ten said they felt somewhat or very uneasy talking about it even with friends.

'Israel’s' ongoing war on Gaza has intensified divisions across the UK, fueling repeated pro-Palestine demonstrations and calls from pro-'Israel' groups to curb them. The government’s ban on the pro-Palestine direct action group, Palestine Action, after it vandalized British planes at RAF Brize Norton in June, has resulted in at least 2,094 arrests.

Luke Tryl, director of More In Common UK, told the Independent that the war was having a “divisive” effect in the UK.

“As people with strong views on the conflict have switched off from mainstream media, there is a risk that they move to their own sources of information online, making it much harder for them to have conversations based on shared facts," he said.

He added, “People also assume that those on the other side of the debate are motivated by bad faith, such as that people support Israel because they are anti-Muslim or Palestine because they are antisemitic."