Over 130 lawyers warn UK sanctions on Israeli settlements don't go far enough

Over 130 lawyers warn UK sanctions on Israeli settlements don't go far enough More than 130 lawyers, former judges and legal academics have warned British Prime Minister Andy Burnham that sanctions announced last week by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband against Israeli settlements fail to meet the UK’s obligations under international law. In a six-page letter sent to Burnham on Tuesday, the lawyers welcome the government’s decision to act alongside Canada and France, but state that “the action covered in the recent announcement falls far short” of Britain’s obligations to oppose Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory under a 2024 International Court of Justice ruling. As part of last week’s announcement, the UK declared that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory was illegal.

Miliband told parliament that he agrees ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is taking place in the West Bank. Government sources confirmed to MEE that Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights and in East Jerusalem will be also covered by the UK's new measures, as well as those in the occupied West Bank. Eleven other countries - Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden - joined the UK in supporting or ⁠considering sanctions on trade in goods with settlements.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Signatories to the letter warning Burnham that these measures “fall far short” of Britain’s obligations include barrister Michael Mansfield, former lord justice of appeal Alan Moses, SOAS professor Nimer Sultany and Ralph Wilde, UCL professor of international law. Limited actions The letter calls for measures including extending the British sanctions to cover insurance, accountancy services and digital infrastructure. The lawyers state that the government should confirm publicly that no UK public body, pension scheme or sovereign fund holds investments in settlements.

They also call for the imposition of a full arms embargo on Israel. 'The elephant in the room is that the occupation is not a bug, it’s a feature' - Nimer Sultany, SOAS professor “The gove…