Sadiq Khan condemns London property event linked to West Bank settlements
London’s mayor opposed a real estate roadshow that rights groups say promotes sales in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has criticised a property event scheduled in the British capital that rights groups say promotes real estate in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The dispute has drawn attention because United Nations bodies and most countries regard those settlements as illegal under international law.
Khan raised concerns about the “Great Israeli Real Estate Event” during Mayor’s Question Time on Friday, according to Al Jazeera. The event is due to take place in London on Sunday and forms part of a roadshow advertising land and property sales tied to Israeli settlements, Al Jazeera reported.
Responding to a question from Zack Polanski, leader of the United Kingdom’s Green Party, Khan said Israeli settlements in the West Bank are “unjustifiable and illegal under international law” and are connected to the displacement of Palestinians. He said he opposed efforts to sell settlement property in London or elsewhere.
The event is organised by My Home in Israel, a real estate agency that seeks overseas buyers for property in Israel, according to Al Jazeera. Rights groups including Amnesty International have criticised the event, saying it openly advertises land in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Khan said he had spoken with London’s Metropolitan Police about the event, Al Jazeera reported. He said police told him that any allegations of criminality linked to the possible unlawful sale of property would be assessed as part of an investigation.
Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK’s crisis response campaign manager, urged the UK government not to allow an event that he said encourages settlement expansion. In a statement cited by Al Jazeera, Benedict pointed to what he called faster annexation measures under Israel’s current government and an increase in state-backed settler violence.
“This isn’t a property fair. It’s apartheid and annexation with a sales pitch,” Benedict said, according to Al Jazeera.
Settlement growth in the occupied West Bank
Al Jazeera described Israeli settlers as Israeli citizens living on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. Israel began building settlements after it captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Six-Day War, according to Al Jazeera.
More than 700,000 settlers, about 10 percent of Israel’s population, now live in 150 settlements and 128 outposts across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Al Jazeera reported. The Israeli government has funded and built settlements, according to the outlet.
Al Jazeera also reported that Israeli authorities provide settlers in the occupied West Bank with about $5.6m a year to monitor, report and restrict Palestinian construction in Area C. Area C is under full Israeli administration and makes up more than 60 percent of the West Bank, according to Al Jazeera.
United Nations bodies and most countries consider West Bank settlements illegal under international conventions, Al Jazeera reported. The United States has shielded Israel from diplomatic censure at the UN for decades by using its veto power, according to the outlet.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.