British campaigners demand action over Israeli settlement advertising at London tourism expo

British activists staged a protest Tuesday outside the Israeli pavilion at the World Travel Market (WTM) expo in London, opposing the promotion of tourism in the occupied Palestinian territories. The demonstration was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which said the Israeli pavilion was advertising tourism in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories, contrary to commitments previously declared by the British government.

In a message addressed to British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, the organization recalled his previous promise to ban the promotion of illegal Israeli settlements in the UK and called on him to clarify whether he would uphold that commitment. "We've just confirmed that Israel's stall at the World Travel Market in London is advertising tourism in the illegally occupied Palestinian territory," the group said on X. "UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband promised he would ban advertising like this.

Will he now stick to his word?" the group asked. In September, Miliband announced measures targeting economic links with Israeli settlements, saying Britain would move beyond statements of condemnation. “We will ban the import of goods from illegal settlements. We will disrupt the supply lines for British finance, British construction, and British services for illegal settlements,” he said. He said Labour had changed its approach under Andy Burnham’s leadership, promising to challenge abuses in Gaza and the West Bank.

“And under Andy's leadership, we have reset our approach. We call out ethnic cleansing by the settler terrorists in the West Bank. We call out the evidence of war crimes in Gaza. We call out Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, and we match word with action,” he said.