MPs call for end to real estate event over fear it pushes sale of Israeli settlements

More than 100 UK lawmakers have called for the cancellation of an Israeli real estate event scheduled to take place in London on Sunday, which had appeared to advertise the sale of land in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.In a letter sent to the foreign secretary on Friday, 101 parliamentarians and members of the House of Lords, warned the event was “firmly embedded in Israel’s project of colonial expansion by facilitating the sale of land that has been stolen from Palestinians” and called on the government to take “all necessary steps” to stop the event from going ahead in the capital.“Allowing the event to proceed would not only be inconsistent with current UK government guidance on settlement-related economic activity, it would stand in opposition to the government’s obligations under international law,” the letter to Yvette Cooper said.Signatories included Labour MPs Andy McDonald and Debbie Abrahams, co-chairs of the British-Palestine all-party parliamentary group. The letter comes after concerns were raised by MPs in parliament, as well as by the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, who said he discussed the event with Metropolitan police.On Tuesday, the UK along with other western powers, announced it is imposing sanctions on six firms and one individual for enabling and financing the recent upsurge in settler violence in the West Bank.However, it fell short, in banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements, which more than 140 Labour MP’s, including the chairs of every Labour-led select committee, called on government to do earlier this week.Israeli soldiers operate amid a Palestinian protest against a new Israeli settlement in the West Bank village of Deir Abu Mishal, near Ramallah. Photograph: Mohammed Torokman/ReutersOrganisations including Amnesty International UK, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Muslim Association of Britain, among other organisations, also called on the UK government to cancel the event.The London event is the final stop in a series of international roadshows which had appeared to advertise the sale of land in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and invites individuals to “explore the best Anglo neighbourhoods” and find their “dream home”.The event had invited people to register their interest in Gush Etzion, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, which the UK government considers an illegal settlement.Organisers have denied claims the event will feature land for sale in the West Bank, calling the allegations “ridiculous” and “motivated by anti-Israeli and terrorist supporters”. A spokesperson told the Jewish News, “all exhibitors, without exception, will provide information about properties and projects within the Green line.”The website for the 2025 event, which mentioned Gush Etzion has since been taken down, and mention of Gush Etzion on the 2026 event page was removed after concerns were raised publicly.The event, billed as private, invitation only and with free admission, offers consultants on insurance, tax and mortgage advisers and transferring funds. It also includes a map of the territory featuring no delineation of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, as well as Syria’s Golan Heights.The event comes as settler violence in the West Bank has reached unprecedented levels, and as a coalition of western countries – including the UK, France, Canada, Germany and Italy – have called for an end to the construction of Israeli settlements it says breach international law.The upcoming event previously took place in Toronto in May, and six locations in New York, according to its website. New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, previously said he “deeply opposed” the real estate expo event taking place, according to The Intercept.Civil society organisations have said the event normalises illegal settlements by marketing them alongside properties in Israeli cities, and called on government to stop trade and investment enabling “unlawful occupation”.A construction site of a new neighbourhood in the Neve Daniel settlement, in the Gush Etzion settlement at the West Bank Photograph: Abir Sultan/EPAKristyan Benedict, the crisis response manager at Amnesty International, said: “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.“This isn’t a property fair. It’s apartheid and annexation with a sales pitch.”The Palestine Solidarity Campaign launched a petition for members of the public to urge the homesecretary, Shabana Mahmood, to prevent the event from happening and to bring charges against those “enabling the sale of stolen Palestinian land”.The Palestinian Youth Movement also launched a campaign bringing together more than 100 civil society organisations including the Muslim Association of Britain and Jewish grassroots group Na’amod, calling on the government to cancel the event.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.”In October 2024, the UK government announced sanctions against seven organisations that support illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and in June 2025, placed sanctions on two Israeli government ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, largely for inciting violence against Palestinians in their campaign to gain control of new settlements in the West Bank.The government spokesperson added: “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.”