London, 8 September 2026 — The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) welcomes the measures announced by the UK Government in Parliament today as a first, overdue step towards bringing UK policy in line with its obligations under international law.
ICJP welcomes the Foreign Secretary categorically stating that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory (oPt) is unlawful, in line with the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 Advisory Opinion. His condemnation of settler terrorism and his naming of Israeli policy as ethnic cleansing mark a significant rhetorical shift. The extension of the UK’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime to target at least some of those driving illegal settlements expansion is similarly welcome.
On the question of genocide proceedings before the International Court of Justice, the UK Government expressed its support for a full and robust process to consider allegations of these crimes, especially before courts.
The ban on imports from illegal settlements should have happened years ago. Measures covering settlement advertising and services such as finance, construction, and infrastructure could help disrupt the expansion and maintenance of the settlement enterprise, but only if they are enforced with teeth, not left as symbolic gestures.
Israel’s illegal occupation economy is far wider and deeper than the hundreds of illegal settlements and the 770,000 illegal settlers who inhabit them. The settlement economy is inseparable from the Israeli state, its ministries, and the wider Israeli economy. Targeting settlements while leaving their financial and political architecture untouched is not a serious strategy, it is a half measure.
UK policy must confront enablers, not just the symptoms. This includes providing clarity on how far restrictions on financial services will extend. UK-based financial institutions provide hundreds of billions of pounds in investment to companies implicated in Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise. Foreign-based corporations complicit in Israel’s atrocities meanwhile continue to have access to UK investors, customers, and public sector contracts.
The responsibility for today’s measures lies entirely with Israel’s unlawful conduct. Israel has a clear and simple route to ending the pressure: comply with international law and end the illegal occupation. Until it does, the UK’s response must escalate, not stall.
Neil Sammonds, ICJP’s Head of Public Affairs and Communications, said:
“Israel’s prolonged illegal occupation and multiple, accompanying war crimes and other serious breaches of international law across the oPt have been tolerated and even supported by the UK and other states for decades. Today’s announcements appear to mark a shift away from UK complicity in Israel’s crimes. We urge the government to ensure these measures are robustly enforced and extended across every area in which UK policy, trade, and investment continue to sustain Israel’s unlawful occupation and its crimes against Palestinians.”
The UK Government should also upscale its statements and policies in other key areas to make them in line with its international law obligations, including those covered in ICJP and LMN’s briefing and as relayed in meetings with senior government officials: British nationals and dual nationals serving in Israel’s armed forces, and those living in and travelling to and from settlements; supporting UNRWA; tackling religious persecution; the need for a full two-way arms embargo; and protection of Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank. We are committed to engaging further with the government and political parties towards these ends.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.
For more information or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, please contact the ICJP news desk at [email protected].
Image: Ronan Shenhav via Flickr