Britain-Palestine APPG Letter RE Great Israeli Real EstateEvent in London
-
Britain-PalestineAPPGLetter
Great Israeli Real EstateEvent inLondon
14.06.2026
DearForeignSecretary,
ThisSunday,the‘Great Israeli Real EstateEvent’ is set to takeplace inLondon. Land incities andtownsbuiltontheforceddisplacementofthePalestinianpeople, includingproperties in Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank, will be available for purchase. One settlement among them is Gush Etzion, which is regarded by the UK government as part of
the occupied territory of the State of Palestine, as well as land in Jerusalem, encompassing occupied East Jerusalem, which has been illegally annexed by Israel.
Furthermore, the website advertising the event has made clear that its organisers are working with Bank Leumi, an Israeli bank financing construction in illegal settlements. As such, the event is firmly embedded in Israel’s project of colonial expansion, by facilitating the sale of land that has been stolen from Palestinians, a practice which has contributed to the fragmentation and dispossession of the Palestinian people for over a century. While inviting new settlers to purchase stolen Palestinian land, Palestinian refugees who have been displaced by Israel, and their descendants, are denied the ability to exercise their inalienable, legally-enshrined right of return.
At Tuesday’s ministerial statement announcing asset freezes of a handful of organisations and individuals involved in illegal Israeli settlement activity and Israeli state-sponsored violence against Palestinians, a number of MPs from across the House raised concerns about Sunday’s event. In response to these questions, you stated that ministers are “pursuing that particular event”, but there was no commitment from you to take action to prevent it from taking place.
Allowing the event to proceed would not only be inconsistent with current UK Government guidance on settlement-related economic activity, it would stand in opposition to the government’s obligations under international law.
As you will know, on 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a landmark advisory opinion, declaring that Israel’s presence and civilian settlement policies in the Occupied Palestinian state are illegal under international law. The ICJ found that Israel's settlement policy breaches Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring parts of its civilian population into occupied territory, a practice that amounts to the crime of pillage, which is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Britain-Palestine APPG Letter
Great Israeli Real Estate Event in London
14.06.2026
The ICJ also determined that land confiscation, exploitation of natural resources, and settlement expansion amount to de facto annexation of Palestinian land. In turn, by fragmenting Palestinian territory, the opinion stated Israel's policies actively violate the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
The ICJ ruled that Israel is obligated to end its unlawful presence in the occupied territories as rapidly as possible, cease all new settlement activity, and pay full reparations to Palestinians for damages caused by the occupation.
Beyond the duties incumbent upon Israel, the Court emphasised that all United Nations member states are under an obligation not to recognise the occupation as legal and must not render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel's presence.
Accordingly, in order to uphold its obligations under international law, as well as to maintain consistency with its own guidance on settlement-related economic activity, the UK government must now take all necessary steps to ensure Sunday’s planned event promoting illegal activities does not proceed in our capital city.
We look forward to your response setting out the action that the government will take to address the matter.
Yours sincerely,
