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An event in London alleged to be offering opportunities to buy settlement land in Occupied Palestinian Territories faces growing calls to be shut down.
‘The Great Israeli Real Estate Event 2026’, due to be held at an undisclosed location in London on Sunday 14 June, initially appeared to offer land for sale in occupied Gush Etzion, in the West Bank, which is illegally occupied by Israel according to the United Nations and a raft of international governmental bodies.
However, following an outcry from human rights groups and in Parliament, public references to land sales in Gush Etzion have since been removed, Byline Times has learned.
A map featured on the webpage for the event also appears to contain all of Palestine and Syria’s occupied Golan Heights, presenting it all as Israel. The webpage also features an image of East Jerusalem, which is also illegally occupied. There are no sale opportunities publicly listed for these areas but details on the site are scarce.
On Tuesday, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) issued a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, and Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle, raising “urgent concerns” over the London edition of the event.
A formal letter was also sent to the Metropolitan Police, calling for an immediate investigation into the legality of the event and those associated with it under UK law.
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It is one of a number of events aimed at marketing and facilitating the purchase of property in both illegal Israeli settlements located in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and cities within Israel.
According to promotional material, the event will feature consultants offering advice on property acquisitions, advertising properties as “your dream home” and providing support for “important life planning needs in Israel, including burial services.”
The potential facilitation of the illegal sale of land that ICJP say violates international law in London should be of “grave concern to the UK Government”, they said. The UK’s longstanding position has been that Israel’s settlements are illegal and a ‘flagrant violation’ of international law.
The letter highlighted that the event “conflates locations within Israel with properties situated in illegal Israeli settlements in the oPt. In doing so, it contributes to the normalisation of Israel’s settlement enterprise and presents settlements established in the oPt as an ordinary and legitimate extension of Israel’s sovereign territory,” the pro-Palestinian legal group added.
A spokesperson said: “Given the UK Government’s repeated affirmations of the illegality of Israeli settlements in the oPt, the rhetoric of the ‘Great Israeli Real Estate’ event stands in total contradiction to the UK’s longstanding legal and political positions which affirm that Israeli settlements constitute an obstacle to peace and have no legal validity. The promotion and facilitation of property transactions connected to such activity therefore raises serious legal and public policy concerns.”
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In Parliament on Tuesday, Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Callum Miller called for the Government to ban the event, pointing in particular to potential sales of land in Gush Etzion. He told MPs: “This is Palestinian land being advertised, bartered and sold on the streets of our capital.”
Órlaith Roe, ICJP’s Public Affairs and Communications Officer, said: “The prospect of an event in London promoting property in illegal Israeli settlements is outrageous and flies in the face of the UK’s own longstanding position on the matter. The UK Government has repeatedly affirmed that these settlements are illegal under international law, yet this event risks normalising and legitimising them.
“Palestinian land is not for sale, and occupation is not a real estate opportunity. It is a violation of international law.
“I would also remind the Home Secretary that she has the power to prevent this event from going ahead and to ensure the UK’s own position on the illegality of Israeli settlements is upheld.”
Government Responds
In response to Byline Times, a Government spokesperson said: “Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and harm prospects for a two-state solution. The Israeli government must clamp down on settler violence and end settlement expansion.
“We have also imposed sanctions both on those responsible for that violence and on individual members of the Israeli cabinet for inciting it.
“Expansion in the West Bank is wrong. We will be bringing forward updated guidance in the coming days, giving greater clarity to UK businesses on how to avoid ventures which support these illegal settlements.”
The UK has paused free trade agreement negotiations with Israel, arguing it was not possible to advance discussions with a Netanyahu government pursuing “such egregious policies” in Gaza and the West Bank.
A joint statement from the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand on the situation in the West Bank on 22 May this year stated: “Businesses should not bid for construction tenders for E1 or other settlement developments. They should be aware of legal and reputational consequences of participating in settlement construction including the risk of involving themselves in serious breaches of international law.”
It is not clear if the UK Government has intervened in this particular event.
