DOZENS of MPs and peers across political parties have written to the UK Government to demand they ban all goods coming into the UK from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
In an open letter, the group wrote to Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds demanding the ban over the war on Gaza.
The MPs want to halt the importing of settler goods into the UK which included produce like olive oil, wine, dates, and oranges among other products.
They said the UK Government'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 reads: “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.”
The letter follows the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling where it determined in July last year that Israel's occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, to be unlawful.
It also 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”.
The letter was signed by a group of cross-party MPs and peers including Jeremy Corbyn, SNPs Brendan O’ Hara, Greens Carla Denyer, Plaid Cymru’s Ben Lake, LibDems Alistair Carmichael and Labour’s Brian Leishman.
The parliamentarians have argued 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”.
Alloa and Grangemouth’s MP Leishman (below) called the lack of action disgraceful and that it legitimises Benjamin Netanyahu’s war crimes.
He 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.”
Construction of illegal Israeli settlements has skyrocketed in the last year amidst a surge in violent settler attacks, Global Justice Now said.
The group added that 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.
Tim Bierley, campaign manager at Global Justice Now, said a ban on imports of goods produced in illegal settlements would be an essential first step to the UK complying with the UK Government’s international obligations.
He 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 added the lack of action from the UK Government means consumers are at risk of buying products arising from war crimes.
He 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.”
The UK Government has been approached for comment.
