I have written to the Foreign Secretary alongside MPs and Peers to urge the government to use specific sanctions to compel Israel to abide by international law.
In the letter, we set out how Israel has escalated its actions in the West Bank on multiple fronts. This includes a significant increase in settlement building and land confiscation, with a record number of housing tenders issued and dozens of new settlements announced in recent years. We also highlight the advancement of the E1 settlement, which would sever East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and destroy the prospect of a viable Palestinian state.
We raise serious concerns about the rise in settler violence, carried out with the support of the Israeli military, which has led to the forced displacement of Palestinian communities and the depopulation of parts of the West Bank. Alongside this, we point to legal changes that further entrench discrimination, facilitate land seizures, and contribute to what many observers consider to be the de facto annexation of the territory.
Given these developments, we call on the government to impose a full ban on trade and interaction with illegal settlements, strengthen sanctions against settlers and settler groups, and publish the UK’s formal response to the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion.
Time is of the essence. A failure to thwart these Israeli plans will crush any slim chances remaining of moving towards a viable peace process let alone a credible peace agreement.
