London mayor slams event touting illegal Israeli settlement land sales

‘Great Israeli Real Estate Event’ promotes the sale of stolen Palestinian land in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.The mayor of London has condemned this weekend’s “Great Israeli Real Estate Event”, part of a roadshow promoting the sale of land and property in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.Mayor Sadiq Khan expressed “concerns” about the event due to take place in the British capital on Sunday, during a Mayor’s Question Time session on Friday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Is Israel’s ‘buffer zone’ inside Lebanon an attempt to grab gas reserves?list 2 of 4‘Torture isn’t new to Palestinians’: How Israel learned from colonialismlist 3 of 4Iraq’s paramilitary groups say they will disarm. Will that ever happen?list 4 of 4One injured as Israel hits southern Lebanon with air raids, artilleryend of list“Israeli settlements in the West Bank are unjustifiable and illegal under international law,” Khan said in response to a question about the event from the United Kingdom’s Green Party leader Zack Polanski.“They are deeply tied to the ongoing displacement of Palestinians.“I condemn any attempt to sell property in the settlements in the West Bank, be that in London or anywhere else in the world; I share concerns about the greater Israeli real estate event taking place in our city, which I oppose,” Khan added.The event is organised by Israel" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="145212" data-entity-type="organization">My Home in Israel, a real estate agency focused on attracting overseas clients to buy property in Israel.Rights groups, including Amnesty, have slammed the event for openly advertising the sale of land in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.Khan said he had discussed the event with London’s Metropolitan police and had been informed that any allegations of criminality relating to the potentially unlawful sale of property at the event would be assessed by the Met as part of an investigation.“Given the significant escalation in speed and scale of annexation measures under Israel’s current government and the rise in state-backed settler violence, it is unthinkable that the UK government could allow an event to be held in the UK that openly promotes activities encouraging settlement expansion,” Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK’s crisis response campaign manager, said in a statement.