Britons dislike Israel more than almost any other country, a YouGov poll has found.

The survey was conducted in August during the Gaza conflict, but was published only last week by Chatham House, the UK’s most prestigious foreign affairs think tank.

When asked who they felt “especially unfavourable” towards, 35 per cent of respondents said Israel, with only Russia - which had recently annexed Crimea - and North Korea receiving more votes.

This was more than double the percentage of Britons who indicated Israel when asked the same question two years before, and placed the Jewish state as more disliked than Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

The survey team said this shift in attitudes was “presumably in response to the controversial military campaign in Gaza and the civilian casualties it caused, which were prominent in the news at the time the survey was conducted.”

In contrast to Israel, negative perceptions of Iran have dropped from 45 per cent to 33 per cent, taking the Islamic Republic from being the most unfavourable country to fourth on the list.

The full results are available here: http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/field/field_documen...