Israeli settlement sanctions 'fall far short' of UK obligations, warn legal experts

Dozens of lawyers and legal academics on Tuesday warned the British government that sanctions announced against illegal Israeli settlements fail to meet the UK’s obligations under international law. In a letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, more than 130 legal experts said they welcomed the decision to act alongside its allies but noted that the action "falls far short" of Britain’s obligations to oppose Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. The letter called for measures including extending the sanctions to cover insurance, accountancy services, and digital infrastructure; confirming publicly that no UK public body, pension scheme, or sovereign fund holds investments in settlements; and imposing a full arms embargo on Israel. It noted that the International Court of Justice's findings have "not had an impact on Israel’s apartheid practice" and while the UK sanctions are "a necessary corrective," they are "improperly narrow" when compared with sanctions on Russia. It added: "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 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," UCL professor of international law Ralph Wilde said in the statement. "The elephant in the room is that the occupation is not a bug, it’s a feature," said SOAS professor of law Nimer Sultany. Last week, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a series of measures, including a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements, sanctions on companies and individuals facilitating settlement expansion, and additional sanctions on extremist Israeli occupiers accused of supporting or inciting violence against Palestinians.