London Mayor Condemns Property Sale Event for Illegal Israeli Settlements
Al Jazeera English
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has condemned a property event in London promoting land and property sales in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The event, set for Sunday, has drawn criticism from human rights groups. Khan said he opposes the event and has discussed it with police.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the 'Great Israeli Real Estate Event' scheduled for this weekend in the British capital. The event is part of a series promoting the sale of land and property in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
During 'Mayor's Question Time' on Friday, Khan expressed 'concern' about the event taking place on Sunday. 'Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegitimate and illegal under international law,' Khan replied to a question from Green Party of England leader Zack Polanski.
'They are intrinsically linked to the ongoing displacement of Palestinians. I condemn any attempt to sell property in West Bank settlements, whether in London or anywhere else in the world; I share the concerns about the great Israeli real estate event taking place in our city, and I oppose it,' Khan added.
The event is organized by My Home in Israel, a real estate brokerage specializing in attracting foreign clients to buy property in Israel. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have criticized the event for openly advertising land sales in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Khan said he had discussed the event with the Metropolitan Police and was informed that any allegations of criminality related to the sale of illegal property at the event would be assessed by police as part of an investigation.
'Given the significant escalation in the speed and scale of annexation measures under the current Israeli government and the rise in state-backed settler violence, it is hard to imagine that the UK government could allow an event to take place in the UK that openly advertises activities encouraging settlement expansion,' said Kristyan Benedict, crisis management campaign director at Amnesty International UK, in a statement.
'This is not a real estate fair. It is an apartheid and annexation regime with a sales pitch,' he said.
The event comes amid ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements. Israeli settlers are Israeli citizens living illegally on Palestinian land. Israel began constructing illegal settlements after capturing the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip during the Six-Day War in June 1967. Today, over 700,000 settlers, equivalent to 10% of Israel's population, live in 150 illegal settlements and 128 outposts across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The Israeli government has openly funded and built the settlements. Israeli authorities grant settlers in the West Bank approximately $5.6 million annually to monitor, report, and restrict Palestinian construction in Area C, the area under exclusive Israeli control that covers over 60% of the West Bank.
United Nations agencies and most countries consider settlements in the West Bank illegal, citing international conventions. However, the U.S. has provided diplomatic cover for Israel for decades, often using its veto at the UN to shield Israel from diplomatic sanctions.
