Almost four in five Britons have identified Israel as a serious threat to world peace, according to a major study published by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) in its flagship British Social Attitudes report.

The findings show that 78 percent of respondents now regard Israel as a severe danger to global stability, up substantially from 48 percent recorded in 2005.

The figure outstrips public perceptions of other regional and global powers, exceeding the proportion of Britons who view Iran (75 percent) and the United States (74 percent) as serious threats, according to the report titled A More Dangerous World: British Attitudes to Security, Defence and International Alliances.

Middle East conflicts

"Israel's reputation, too, has seemingly suffered from its involvement in recent Middle East conflict," the report noted, tracking a marked escalation in public concern across recent years.

According to the study, the proportion of Britons viewing Israel as a serious threat climbed to 73 percent by autumn 2024, after Gaza sustained "heavy damage" during Israel's genocidal war.

Whilst the metric receded to approximately two-thirds during 2025, it rebounded sharply to 78 percent in a spring 2026 survey conducted following the joint US-Israeli air bombardment campaign targeting Iran.

Public perceptions diverged significantly along party lines, though clear majorities across all mainstream political affiliations registered profound concern.

Supporters of the Green Party proved the most likely to view Israel as a serious threat at 88 percent, followed closely by Labour Party supporters at 84 percent.

Among Liberal Democrat supporters, the figure stood at 79 percent, whilst 70 percent of Conservative Party backers and 62 percent of Reform UK supporters expressed similar assessments.