Committee publication · Correspondence · 22 June 2026
Correspondence to the Foreign Secretary relating to the Occupied Palestinian Territory and International Law, 18 June 2026
Summary
Chair Sarah Champion writes to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper challenging the Government's failure to substantively respond to the July 2024 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. Despite recent UK sanctions on settler violence financiers and warnings against illegal settlement investment, Champion argues these measures are insufficient given the Government's own acknowledgment that settlements are illegal, displacement is occurring, and occupation must end. She demands clarification on UK compliance with international law obligations and asks what threshold will trigger further action.
Key findings
- Government has sanctioned individuals and entities involved in settler violence and advised against business involvement in illegal settlements, but has not responded substantively to the ICJ's July 2024 Advisory Opinion holding Israel's occupation unlawful.
- Government acknowledges settlements are illegal under international law, that Palestinians are being forcibly displaced, and that the occupation must end—yet treats displacement as actions of extremists rather than state policy.
- The E1 settlement project, settlement expansion, and Palestinian displacement are Israeli government policies, not independent settler actions; the individuals sanctioned operate within a state-enabled framework.
- WHO data shows nearly 73,000 killed in Gaza with 175,000 injured; healthcare workers killed at three times the civilian rate. Chair argues UK response is inconsistent with its approach to violations in Ukraine, Rwanda, Sudan, and Yemen.
- FCDO's Conflict and Security Monitoring Project—the only UK programme collecting, verifying and analysing human rights incidents in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory—lost funding; concerns raised that the International Humanitarian Law cell has been reduced in size.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Sarah Champion MP, Yvette Cooper MP, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ori Givati (B'TSelem), Baroness Chapman, International Court of Justice, Centre for Information Resilience
Notable line
“The credibility of the United Kingdom's commitment to international law depends not on its willingness to recognise violations, but on its willingness to respond to them.”
Key Quotes
“Israel supports the settlers in exactly the way that the settlers support Israel, because the goal is exactly the same. They operate as one machine.”
“The Netanyahu government has condemned some settler violence, but that rings hollow when there is scant accountability, and when the agenda of the hardline settlers has now become intertwined with the approach of this Israeli cabinet.”
“We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state. This place belongs to us ".”
“There is no justification for failing to use the full range of diplomatic, political and legal tools available to protect civilians and uphold international law in Gaza.”
“At what point does a failure to act become a failure to uphold the principles the UK applies elsewhere?”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗