Labour MPs have called on the UK to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements, as western governments threaten to impose new sanctions on Israel.
A letter signed by nearly 140 Members of Parliament including former Health Secretary Wes Streeting urged the government to take “urgent, concrete action” against Israel’s E1 expansion plans in the occupied West Bank and the linked proceedings to expel Palestinian bedouin of Khan Al Ahmar village.
The E1 settlement plans, which launched a tender for construction this month, would split the West Bank from East Jerusalem and “make the two-state solution … an impossibility”, the letter warned.
MPs wrote it had become “abundantly clear” that the UK’s existing sanctions regime was not enough to curb the rapid annexation of Palestinian land. The British government has previously sanctioned two far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, as well as extremist settlers with a known history of violence.
“Settlement expansion and annexation in the occupied West Bank has escalated exponentially,” the letter said. “Individual settlers and even individual ministers are only implementing what the Israeli government is supporting. Settlements – and all the violations which come with them – are sanctioned, incentivised and financially enabled by the Israeli government.”
The letter accused the UK government of “taking no further action” to counter the escalation of illegal Israeli settlements and settler violence since it warned it would do so in February.
Melanie Ward, who organised the letter and is a former chief executive of British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, said: “It’s time to be clear that settlements have no viable economic future.”
“We are deeply concerned at the vast rise in violent Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and at settlement expansion, which forces Palestinians off their land. The Israeli government itself is clear this is designed to prevent a two-state solution ever being realised,” she wrote on social media.
Fear of inaction
In a joint statement with other western countries, the UK government has previously warned companies will be penalised for seeking to bid for E1 contracts.
But concerns have been raised by MPs and former diplomats that no action has been taken since.
On the weekend French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot warned of a forthcoming sanctions package, he said: “I have pushed for sanctions to be imposed not only on those responsible for this violence, but also on the entities, companies and organisations in Israel that are providing these extremist settlers with the means to drive Palestinians from their land, burn their crops and destroy their buildings.”
France is reportedly co-ordinating with several countries to issue sanctions, including asset freezes, against extremist settlers. France has issued sanctions in the past on a national level but only in the form of anti-terrorism laws and not against Israeli settlers.
There are discussions about EU-wide sanctions against Mr Ben-Gvir, but the Czech Republic is reportedly blocking the move, which would require unanimity.
Media reports suggest that Germany is against sanctioning Mr Smotrich and only supports sanctioning Mr Ben-Gvir. He provoked outrage last month when he taunted European flotilla activists.
Last week, Ireland joined four other EU states in banning Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir from entering the country.
Ireland is also weeks away from enshrining its own law banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements – a move already adopted by Spain and Slovenia and under consideration in Belgium and the Netherlands. Ireland has called for an EU-wide ban, but this remains unlikely due to pushback from Germany.
Campaigners in the UK have highlighted a real estate event in London this week advertising land on illegal settlements in the West Bank. "This isn't a property fair. It's apartheid and annexation with a sales pitch," said Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK's Crisis Response Manager.
"Given the significant escalation in speed and scale of annexation measures under Israel's current government and the rise in state-backed settler violence, it is unthinkable that the UK government could allow an event to be held in the UK that openly promotes activities encouraging settlement expansion," he added.
The MP's letter also highlighted the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion of 2024, which found Israel’s occupation of Palestine was illegal and told member states not trade with Israeli companies operating in occupied land. It added that the UK had previously enacted a similar ban on trading with illegally occupied Crimea and other parts of Ukraine.
“There is a precedent in UK law and policy of not trading with illegally occupied lands … which also means the UK would not need primary legislation to enact a ban,” he said.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has yet to respond to the letter, but a representative said the government continues to call on Israeli authorities to tackle settler violence.
“We have strongly and repeatedly condemned settler violence and the expansion of illegal settlements, and we have imposed sanctions both on those responsible for that violence and on individual members of the Israeli cabinet for inciting it,” they said.
“We continue to call on the Israeli authorities to clamp down on all those who are seeking to inflame tensions, and to tackle the unacceptable violence and destruction of property that is being committed by settler groups against Palestinian communities.”
