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Legal Experts Say UK Sanctions on Israeli Settlements Fall Short
(MENAFN) More than 130 lawyers and legal scholars warned the British government Tuesday that its newly announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements do not satisfy the UK's obligations under international law.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the legal experts said they welcomed London's decision to act in step with allied nations but stressed that the measures "fall far short" of Britain's duty to oppose Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.
The letter urged the government to expand the sanctions to cover insurance, accountancy services and digital infrastructure; to publicly confirm that no UK public body, pension scheme or sovereign fund holds investments in the settlements; and to impose a full arms embargo on Israel.
It noted that findings from the International Court of Justice have "not had an impact on Israel's apartheid practice," and that while the UK's sanctions amount to "a necessary corrective," they remain "improperly narrow" when measured against sanctions imposed on Russia.
The letter continued: "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."
UCL professor of international law Ralph 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."
SOAS law professor Nimer Sultany added: "The elephant in the room is that the occupation is not a bug, it's a feature."
The letter follows measures unveiled last week by UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, which included a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements, sanctions targeting companies and individuals involved in settlement expansion, and further sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers accused of inciting or supporting violence against Palestinians.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the legal experts said they welcomed London's decision to act in step with allied nations but stressed that the measures "fall far short" of Britain's duty to oppose Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.
The letter urged the government to expand the sanctions to cover insurance, accountancy services and digital infrastructure; to publicly confirm that no UK public body, pension scheme or sovereign fund holds investments in the settlements; and to impose a full arms embargo on Israel.
It noted that findings from the International Court of Justice have "not had an impact on Israel's apartheid practice," and that while the UK's sanctions amount to "a necessary corrective," they remain "improperly narrow" when measured against sanctions imposed on Russia.
The letter continued: "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."
UCL professor of international law Ralph 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."
SOAS law professor Nimer Sultany added: "The elephant in the room is that the occupation is not a bug, it's a feature."
The letter follows measures unveiled last week by UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, which included a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements, sanctions targeting companies and individuals involved in settlement expansion, and further sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers accused of inciting or supporting violence against Palestinians.
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