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More than 130 lawyers, former judges, and law professors in the UK warned Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister of the country, in a letter about the inadequacy of the new sanctions announced against Israeli settlements. This letter, sent on Tuesday, states that the recent actions of the UK government alongside Canada and France are "far less than the UK's commitments to counter Israeli occupation."
Sanctions and International Commitments
In a six-page letter sent to Burnham, these lawyers referred to the recent decision of the UK government and emphasized that "the announced measures are by no means sufficient" and that the UK must be accountable to its international obligations regarding Israeli occupation according to the ruling of the International Court of Justice in 2024. In this statement, the UK has explicitly stated that Israeli occupation in Palestinian territories is illegal, and Edward Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, has acknowledged in Parliament that the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank is ongoing.
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Lawyers' Suggestions for Further Actions
The signatories of this letter, including renowned lawyer Michael Mansfield and Professor Nima Soltani from SOAS University, have urged the government to consider additional restrictions such as sanctions on insurance services, accounting, and digital infrastructure alongside the announced sanctions. They also emphasized that the government should publicly confirm that no UK public entity, pension fund, or state investment is invested in Israeli settlements. At the end of this letter, they called for a complete ban on arms sales to Israel.
Ralph Wild, a professor of international law at UCL, stated in this letter: "The government's decision to recognize the illegality of Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank is welcome, but the implications of this illegality for the UK and other countries - specific legal duties for comprehensive action to end this and other illegal actions by Israel - are far broader than the limited measures announced."
He also added: "The elephant in the room is that occupation is not a flaw but a feature of Israel's political system." Professor Nima Soltani also stated that "the political consensus in Israel is opposed to Palestinian independence, and therefore ending Israeli occupation in Palestinian territories requires immediate and comprehensive action from the UK government."
This letter refers to Article 6(3) of the Arms Trade Treaty, which prohibits the transfer of arms when a country knows that these goods are being used in part of genocide, crimes against humanity, or serious violations of the Geneva Conventions. The lawyers emphasized that the UK government cannot ignore this awareness.
They also compared the announced sanctions against Israel with the UK's sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The UK's sanctions included Russian banks, energy companies, transport networks, and financial services that were imposed to facilitate and finance occupation. This logic has not yet been applied to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
Additionally, the lawyers called for assurance that funds raised by registered charities in the UK are not used to support settlement activities. Melanie Ward, a Labour MP, announced in June that Israeli settlements had received at least £28 million in aid from 32 charities in England and Wales. The Charity Commission launched an investigation into charities operating in settlements in August.
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