THE Labour Friends of Israel lobby group has urged the UK Government not to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
In a briefing paper published on its website, the Labour organisation argued that a prohibition on trade with illegal settlements in the West Bank would amount to a “de facto boycott of Israel” as a whole, which it suggests would be “antisemitic”.
The lobby group also appeared to justify illegal settlements in “major blocs” on Palestinian land near to the Israeli border, saying the UK Government should not oppose settlement expansion in these areas despite them breaching international law.
Labour Friends of Israel no longer publicly lists its members, but previously counted Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, and Business Secretary Peter Kyle among its supporters.
Before entering No 10, Burnham said that Labour’s response to Israel’s actions in Palestine – where it has been found to have repeatedly breached international law – had “too often not been good enough”. He suggested that his Government would “do better”, including by “looking at measures to ban trade in goods with illegal settlements”.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territories like Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank was “illegal”, and said that UN states like the UK were therefore obliged to “ensure compliance by Israel with international humanitarian law” and refrain from any dealings with Israel relating to occupied Palestinian land.
However, the UK Government has continued to allow trade between the UK and illegally occupied Palestinian land, and remained silent on the ICJ ruling for more than two years.
In a briefing document urging Burnham’s Government not to follow the ICJ ruling, the Labour Friends of Israel group said there was “a long-standing consensus [that] … the key settlement blocs will remain under Israeli control through land swaps”.
“Britain should focus its attention and resources towards encouraging the next Israeli government to remove illegal settlement outposts and cease settlement expansion outside the major blocs along the 1967 Green Line, where further construction does threaten the future prospects for peace.”
The paper goes on: “A boycott of all trade with settlements is practically and politically impossible. It would impact all Israeli businesses operating in the settlement blocs, as well as East Jerusalem and the Old City – where major Israeli businesses like Bank Hapoalim and Teva operate, and where the tourism sector is critical for Israeli and Palestinian workers.
“A settlement boycott would thus become a de facto boycott of all of Israel.
“The Labour Party has rightly consistently rejected calls to boycott Israel, which has long been championed by the antisemitic [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement … A de facto boycott of Israel will rightly be perceived within the Jewish community as a further example of the government singling out and targeting Israel for punitive action and harsh rhetoric.
“This will further the community’s sense of isolation against the backdrop of rising antisemitism over the past three years, which is itself driven by anti-Zionist antisemitism – an obsessive hatred of, and focus on, the Jewish state.”
Israel's occupation of Palestinian land and settlements on Palestinian land are illegal under international law. The country is also widely accused of committing genocide against Palestinians by leading experts including the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
