Nearly half of Americans believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested if he enters the United States, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll, underscoring what appears to be a sharp decline in public support for Israel and its leadership despite an extensive Israeli public relations campaign.

The survey found that %49 of Americans support arresting Netanyahu under the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), while %27 oppose such action and %23 remain undecided. The poll was conducted among 1,559 U.S. adults between July 25 and 27.

Support for arresting Netanyahu extends beyond traditional pro-Palestinian constituencies. Nearly one-quarter (%23) of President Donald Trump's voters were found supporting the move.

The poll also found that %47 of respondents believe Netanyahu is guilty of war crimes in Gaza, compared with %24 who disagreed. In addition, %43 said Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians, while %24 rejected that characterization. Almost half of those surveyed also said Netanyahu's actions have harmed U.S.-Israel relations.

The findings reinforce a broader trend identified by recent surveys showing a significant deterioration in American attitudes toward Israel and Netanyahu.

A July 2026 survey by the Pew Research Center found that %60 of Americans now hold an unfavorable view of Israel, up from %53 a year earlier. Confidence in Netanyahu has also declined, with %59 saying they have little or no confidence in his handling of world affairs, compared with %52 in 2025. Pew also reported that favorable views of the Israeli government have fallen to %32, while unfavorable views have climbed to %62.

The Economist/YouGov poll comes as Israel faces growing scrutiny over its military campaign in Gaza and amid reports of a multimillion-dollar effort to influence public opinion in the United States.

Recent investigations reported that the Israeli government awarded a $46.5 million contract to a company owned by former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale to develop websites and online content designed to shape how artificial intelligence chatbots present information about Israel and Gaza. According to the reports, the network published material defending Israel's military actions, disputing allegations of genocide, and attempting to influence AI-generated responses by increasing the visibility of pro-Israel content online.

Taken together, the latest polling suggests that despite substantial investment in public messaging and digital influence campaigns, public opinion in the United States has continued to move in the opposite direction, with increasing numbers of Americans expressing negative views of Israel and diminished confidence in Netanyahu's leadership.