By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Over 130 legal experts warned Britain’s sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements fall far short of its obligations under international law.

Key Takeaways

• More than 130 lawyers and legal academics warned that Britain’s sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements were too narrow to meet its international obligations.
• The experts demanded expanded sanctions covering insurance, accountancy services and digital infrastructure, alongside a full arms embargo on Israel.
• They argued that Britain must confront the illegality of Israel’s occupation itself, rather than limiting its response to settlements and settlers.

More than 130 lawyers and legal academics have warned the British government that its recently announced sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements fail to meet the UK’s obligations under international law.

In a letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the legal experts welcomed Britain’s decision to act alongside its allies but said the measures “fall far short” of what is legally required to oppose Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.

The signatories said that while the sanctions represented “a necessary corrective,” they remained “improperly narrow,” particularly when compared with the extensive measures Britain has imposed on Russia.

The letter noted that British sanctions on Russia were not confined to economic activity taking place inside occupied Ukrainian territory. By contrast, the measures targeting illegal Israeli settlements did not address the wider economic and institutional structures supporting Israel’s occupation.

The experts also noted that the findings of the International Court of Justice had “not had an impact on Israel’s apartheid practice,” underscoring the need for stronger action by Britain and other states.

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Broader Sanctions

The letter called on the British government to expand the sanctions to cover services that could support or facilitate illegal settlement activity, including insurance, accountancy services and digital infrastructure.

The experts also urged the government to confirm publicly that no UK public body, pension scheme or sovereign fund holds investments connected to illegal Israeli settlements.

They further demanded that Britain impose a full arms embargo on Israel. The letter read:

“We ask it to commit to further and more rigorous measures to ensure that no part of the UK’s economic relationship with Israel continues to sustain the illegal occupation itself, and the settlements and other serious violations of fundamental rules of international law perpetrated through its conduct.”

The appeal went beyond settlement goods and services, calling for Britain’s entire economic relationship with Israel to be examined to ensure that no British trade, investment or financial activity contributes to maintaining the occupation or the violations committed through it.

Ralph Wilde, a professor of international law at University College London, said the legal consequences arising from Israel’s occupation extended far beyond the sanctions announced by the government.

Wilde said in the statement:

“The consequences of this illegality (occupation) for the UK and other states – special legal duties to take comprehensive action to bring this and other illegal actions by Israel, including its genocide in Gaza, to an end – are far more wide-ranging than the important but limited actions against settlements and settlers announced.”

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‘The Elephant in the Room’

The legal experts emphasized that illegal settlements could not be treated separately from the broader occupation responsible for creating, expanding and sustaining them.

“The elephant in the room is that the occupation is not a bug, it’s a feature,” Nimer Sultany, a professor of law at the School of Oriental and African Studies, said.

The statement emphasized that sanctions limited to settlements and individual settlers risked obscuring the central issue: the illegality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and the responsibility of other states to take comprehensive measures to bring it to an end.

Last week, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a package of measures targeting illegal Israeli settlements and those involved in their expansion.

The measures included a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements and sanctions against companies and individuals accused of facilitating settlement construction and expansion.

Miliband also announced further sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers accused of supporting or inciting violence against Palestinians.

The legal experts welcomed those measures as an important step but maintained that they did not address the full scope of Britain’s legal responsibilities.

They called on the government to move beyond narrowly targeted restrictions and adopt measures addressing the occupation itself, including the financial, commercial and military relationships that allow it to continue.

(PC, Anadolu, Official Statements)