London Mayor Sadiq Khan has condemned a real estate fair in the capital advertising homes in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and said he has raised concerns with the Metropolitan Police over potentially unlawful sales at the event.
Responding to a question from Green Party London Assembly member Zack Polanski at Mayor’s Question Time on Friday, Khan called the settlements "unjustifiable and illegal under international law" and said he opposes the Great Israeli Real Estate Event being held in the city.
Polanski told The New Arab in a statement that it was "morally incomprehensible and unconscionable that this event is scheduled to take place in our city" and warned that London "risks becoming complicit in settlement expansion if people in our capital are profiting from the theft of Palestinian land."
The event, set to take place at an undisclosed location in the UK capital on Sunday, is organised by property marketing company My Home in Israel with the aim of connecting Jewish communities overseas with estate agents and financial institutions in Israel.
Among the properties listed in the event’s promotional material, however, are units in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, including Gush Etzion – a settlement bloc south of Jerusalem housing tens of thousands of settlers.
Around 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank , including East Jerusalem, in settlements considered illegal under international law and repeatedly condemned by UN and European officials.
The UK government this week imposed new sanctions on networks enabling settler violence and updated guidance that warns British businesses against any economic engagement with the settlements.
In light of this, Khan warned that "any allegations of criminality relating to the potential unlawful sale of property at the event will be assessed by the Met with a view to investigation."
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has likewise written to the Metropolitan Police asking them to assess the legality of the event under UK domestic law.
"Palestinian land is not for sale, and occupation is not a real estate opportunity," Órlaith Roe, ICJP's Public Affairs and Communications Officer, said. "This event seeks to profit from a settlement enterprise that the UK itself recognises as illegal under international law. We have provided the Met with the evidence. The responsibility now lies with the authorities to act and prevent this event from going ahead." Polanski also told The New Arab that Sadiq Khan and the Metropolitan Police had to agree to shut down the event.
"The key question now is what comes out of his talks with the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office," he said.
"In practical terms, the Met Police should shut down the event on the grounds that it is unlawful," he added, saying that the "cancellation of this event would demonstrate that London will not tolerate complicity in the dispossession and subjugation of the Palestinian people ."