On 17 February 2025, over 60 MPs and peers wrote to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Rt. Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP calling for a ban on Israeli settlement goods, as the UK already recognises that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law.
Over 60 MPs and peers demand government ban import of Israeli settlement goods
Cross party parliamentarians write to trade secretary calling for urgent measures following July ICJ advisory opinion
A group of 62 MPs and peers across parties have written to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds to demand the government takes measures to ban the import of all goods into the UK made in whole or in part in Israel’s illegal settlements, as reported by The Mirror.
In an open letter, the parliamentarians say that the UK’s current trade and investment relationship with Israel “falls short” of the standards required to meet the UK’s obligations around human rights and international law.
The letter follows an Advisory Opinion (AO) issued by the International Court of Justice(ICJ) on 19 July 2024, which determined Israel's occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, to be unlawful and placed legal responsibilities on all third states “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” (OPT).
The ICJ’s AO states that third states must “abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory” and “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.
While the UK government recognises that settlements in the OPT are illegal under international law, goods produced in illegal settlements are still allowed into the UK.
The letter was signed by a group of cross party MPs and peers including Kit Malthouse (Con), Baroness Warsi (Con), Andy Slaughter (Lab), Lord Peter Hain (Lab), Jeremy Corbyn (Ind), Carla Denyer (Greens), Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru), Alistair Carmichael (Lib Dem), and Brendan O’ Hara (SNP).
The parliamentarians argue that the UK’s failure to ban the import of goods from illegal settlements “help[s] to sustain Israel's settlement economy and entrench the forcible transfer of Palestinians from their homes and land”.
Construction of illegal Israeli settlements has skyrocketed in the last year amidst a surge in violent settler attacks. Last year, Israel approved the largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in more than three decades.
The UK government is expected to issue its own response to the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion in the coming weeks or months.
In December, the Conservative former UK Minister of State for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, expressed regret over Britain’s failure to impose sanctions earlier on Israel for its illegal settlement expansion, telling the Foreign Affairs Committee that the UK should have “taken action against settlements much earlier.”
The letter reads:
Dear Secretary of State,
RE: Israeli settlement goods
We are writing as parliamentarians concerned about the ongoing conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and the human rights situation arising from this. We believe that the most viable way to resolve decades of conflict must be based on respect for international law. In this regard, the UK has an obligation to ensure that its trade relations with Israel are consistent with the UK’s commitments to human rights and international law. We consider that the UK’s existing trade and investment relationship with Israel currently falls short of the standards required and urge you to rectify this.
On 19 July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an Advisory Opinion (AO) that declared Israel's occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, to be unlawful.
The ICJ placed clear legal responsibilities on all third states “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.
Elaborating on this, the AO further underlined that states are under obligation to:
abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory; and
take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
While the UK government rightly recognises that settlements in the OPT are illegal under international law and excludes them from the purview of the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement, it must surely now move to fulfil its legal obligations as set out by the ICJ.
The government's official guidance does not “encourage or offer support to economic or financial activity in the settlements,” but the UK still permits the import of settlement goods into the UK. These economic relations help to sustain Israel's settlement economy and entrench the forcible transfer of Palestinians from their homes and land.
Israel has developed and maintained its settlements through the forcible eviction and displacement of Palestinians from their homes and the transfer into occupied territory of the population of the occupying state. The maintenance and expansion of settlements generates discriminatory policies against Palestinians which violate a wide range of their human rights, and undermines the viability of a contiguous future Palestinian state.
In our view, the ICJ’s AO of 19 July means the UK should urgently consider taking measures to ensure that it does not aid and assist Israel’s unlawful occupation.
In line with this AO, we therefore call upon the government to take measures to ban the import of all goods into the UK made in whole or in part in Israel’s illegal settlements.
With at least 46,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza over the last year and the Israeli government supporting the further establishment and expansion of illegal settlements across the West Bank including East Jerusalem, the only possible path to a just peace is rooted in the end of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. Banning the import of goods from Israel’s illegal settlements would be an important step not only to ensuring that the UK’s trade policies with Israel are consistent with our commitments to human rights and international law, but also to demonstrate that Israel’s serious human right violations will not pass without consequence. We urge you to take action immediately.
Abtisam Mohamed MP, Sheffield Central (Labour) said:
“The ICJ was clear that third party states have an obligation ‘not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’. We must ban imports from illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land in the same way imports have been banned from illegally occupied Crimea. Not doing anything legitimises and facilitates illegal settlements. The application of international humanitarian law requires consistency.”
Brian Leishman MP, Alloa and Grangemouth (Labour) said:
“Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has acted with impunity and the lack of action from the wider international community has been disgraceful. The UK government has said it wants to follow international law but by trading with Israel so that the Israeli economy benefits, then the Netanyahu government’s war crimes are being legitimised. The UK should show international and moral leadership and cease the trading of goods from illegal Israeli settlements.”
Tim Bierley, campaign manager at Global Justice Now said:
“Israel's illegal settlements are fundamental to its violent occupation of Palestinian land and one of the biggest obstacles to peace in the region. The government’s rightful condemnation of settler violence and expansion rings hollow when it is seemingly willing to turn a blind eye to the import of illegal settlement goods. A UK ban on the import of goods produced in whole or in part in the illegal settlements would be an essential first step towards complying with the country's international obligations."
Peter Frankental, Programme Director for Business and Human Rights at Amnesty International said:
“Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land is illegal, and its settlements are a war crime."
“The International Court of Justice has been clear: states must not trade with settlements. By allowing the importation of goods from settlements, the government is putting British consumers at risk of buying products arising from war crimes while compromising supermarkets that stock them."
“The UK’s standing as a genuine supporter of the rule of law requires consistency, why ban imports from illegally occupied Crimea, but not from illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land? This is a shameful double standard that must end. "
Neil Sammonds, Senior Campaigner on Palestine at War on Want said:
"The UK has long recognised that Israel’s settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) are illegal under international law so a comprehensive ban on trade and investment with these settlements is a logical next step. A ban would deny settlers and Israel’s government some of the economic benefits derived from their illegal colonisation of the oPt – colonisation that has devastated the lives and livelihoods of millions of Palestinians. It would also ensure that the business decisions of UK corporations do not undermine the UK’s commitment to human rights, nor the UK's ability to fulfil legal obligations regarding the illegal occupation."
Media contact
Anita Bhadani, media manager at Global Justice Now
(0)7711 875 345, [email protected]
Signatories:
- Abtisam Mohamed MP
- Adrian Ramsay MP
- Alistair Carmichael MP
- Andy McDonald MP
- Andy Slaughter MP
- Ayoub Khan MP
- Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
- Baroness Blackstone
- Baroness Blower
- Baroness Bryan of Partick
- Baroness Hussein-Ece
- Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
- Baroness Lister of Burtersett
- Baroness Mobarik
- Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
- Baroness Sheehan
- Baroness Uddin
- Baroness Warsi
- Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
- Ben Lake MP
- Brendan O'Hara MP
- Brian Leishman MP
- Carla Denyer MP
- Cat Smith MP
- Chris Law MP
- Clive Betts MP
- Clive Lewis MP
- Colum Eastwood MP
- Dave Doogan MP
- Diane Abbott MP
- Ellie Chowns MP
- Graham Leadbitter MP
- Ian Byrne MP
- Ian Lavery MP
- Imran Hussain MP
- Iqbal Mohamed MP
- Jeremy Corbyn MP
- John McDonnell MP
- Jon Trickett MP
- Kate Osborne MP
- Kim Johnson MP
- Kit Malthouse MP
- Lord Clement-Jones
- Lord Hain
- Lord Hendy
- Lord Oates
- Lord Purvis of Tweed
- Marsha De Cordova MP
- Mary Foy MP
- Nadia Whittome MP
- Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
- Paula Barker MP
- Rachael Maskell MP
- Richard Burgon MP
- Shockat AdamMP
- Siân Berry MP
- Simon Opher MP
- Sorcha Eastwood MP
- Steve Witherden MP
- The Lord Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek
- The Lord Bishop of Southwark Christopher Chessun
- Zarah Sultana MP
