A new poll published by the Guardian newspaper said that the majority of people in some of the EU countries want their government to vote in favour of establishing a Palestinian state if a resolution is brought before the United Nations in the next few weeks.

The Guardian report specified the UK, France and Germany; which are, together, seen as crucial votes in the UN’s meeting next week where the battle for Palestinian statehood is expected to be played out.

However, all three governments are pressing for a return to peace negotiations to avoid pursuing the statehood strategy and they have not declared how they would vote if it comes down to it.

In the UK, 59 per cent of those polled said the government should vote in favour of a UN resolution recognising a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

In France and Germany, the figures were higher at 69 per cent and 71 per cent, respectively.

Support for the Palestinians' right to have their own state, without reference to the UN vote, was even higher: 71 per cent in the UK, 82 per cent in France and 86 per cent in Germany.

The poll was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Avaaz, a global campaigning organisation that is conducting an online petition in support of a Palestinian state. It plans to deliver more than 913,000 signatories who back "this new opportunity for freedom" to the European parliament.