Firms tied to West Bank settlements win $15m UK deals despite sanctions

The United Kingdom awarded 10.7 million pounds ($14.4m) in new public contracts to firms with links to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, despite British government pledges to punish companies that profit from settlement activity, an Al Jazeera investigation reveals. The contracts were published after the British government announced new powers on September 8 to sanction companies profiting from business with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.

The companies “appear to be in breach of their legal obligations under international humanitarian law”, Neve Gordon, a professor at the school of law at Queen Mary University of London, told Al Jazeera. “Any UK company that is involved in the occupation is likely to be in direct breach of the sanctions regime Ed Miliband is putting in place,” Gordon said, referring to the UK foreign secretary.