The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has launched a campaign urging British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to stop a property exhibition event due to take place in London later this month, arguing that it facilitates the sale of homes in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank .
The campaign calls on Mahmood to ensure criminal charges are brought against those involved in organising the Great Israeli Real Estate Event 2026 and to prevent it from going ahead. PSC argues that the exhibition is marketing property in settlements built on occupied Palestinian land.
Ryvka Barnard, PSC's Deputy Director of Campaigns, told The New Arab that the group's concerns stemmed from the event's own promotional material.
"The website advertising the event invites registrants to indicate areas of interest with a set of options including Gush Etzion, which is a large settlement bloc in the illegally occupied West Bank," she said.
The Great Israeli Real Estate Event is organised by My Home in Israel, a company that markets property, mortgages, financial services and relocation assistance to prospective buyers.
The event forms part of a wider international series aimed largely at Jewish communities overseas, connecting attendees with developers, estate agents and financial institutions operating in Israel.
Promotional material for the London event references Gush Etzion among the locations in which prospective buyers can express interest.
The settlement bloc lies south of Jerusalem and is home to tens of thousands of Israeli settlers living across a number of communities built on land captured by Israel during the 1967 war.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law, including by the UN and the British government, which regards them as an obstacle to peace and a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The issue has become increasingly contentious as settlement construction and expansion have accelerated in recent years. Human rights groups and Palestinian organisations argue that settlements contribute to the fragmentation of Palestinian territory and undermine the prospects of a future Palestinian state. 'Failure to uphold international law' Barnard said the event highlighted what PSC sees as a contradiction between the British government's stated position on settlements and its response to activities linked to them.
"Events like this are organised with impunity because of the British government's complete failure to uphold international law, and in contradiction with its own position affirming that settlements are illegal," she said.
PSC argues that authorities should investigate the event in the same way they would investigate the sale of allegedly stolen property.
"Any other event in which stolen goods were being advertised for sale would not only be prohibited, it would be investigated by the police to establish the networks involved in the sale of stolen goods and to take further action as appropriate," Barnard said.
The campaign group has also linked its objections to the wider situation in the occupied West Bank, where rights organisations have documented a rise in settler attacks against Palestinian communities.
"At a time when settler violence is rampant and escalating, it's outrageous for an event like this to take place in London, as though disconnected from that violence," she said.
The event follows similar exhibitions held in North America and elsewhere, some of which have attracted protests from pro-Palestinian activists.
Earlier this year, a New York edition of the exhibition sparked demonstrations and criticism from campaigners who accused organisers of promoting property in Israeli settlements.
The controversy comes amid heightened international scrutiny of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.
Last year, the International Court of Justice reaffirmed that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are unlawful under international law and said states should avoid actions that could be interpreted as recognising or assisting the occupation.
Barnard said that beyond legal arguments, the issue had a direct impact on Palestinians living in Britain.
"There are Palestinians in London whose families have been displaced from lands that may be 'on sale' at such an event. This is a travesty of justice," she said.
"We will continue to campaign for an end to Israel's colonial policies of displacement, and for Palestinians to be able to exercise their inalienable right to return to their lands and properties stolen from them."