Stephen Humphreys says Ed Miliband Israel policy now faces a hard legal test after Al Jazeera found at least 17 companies linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank hold United Kingdom public-sector contracts worth more than 2.1 billion pounds. The professor of international law at the London School of Economics said the UK may be in breach of its international obligations.
The investigation identified 125 public-sector contracts with a combined award value of 2.129 billion pounds. Companies owned by Motorola Solutions account for more than 1.7 billion pounds of that total, with the bulk coming through Airwave Solutions.
Motorola Solutions and Airwave Solutions
The contracts span areas such as road maintenance, transport, emergency services and driving licensing. That means the exposure is not confined to one corner of procurement: public bodies are paying into service networks that include companies named by the United Nations Human Rights Office as involved in business activities related to illegal Israeli settlements.
Motorola is embedded in the security infrastructure of illegal settlements, while Heidelberg Materials' Israeli subsidiary owns a quarry on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. Egis and CAF are involved in Jerusalem's expanding light-rail network, and Fosun International's subsidiary Breas Medical receives UK public money.
United Nations Human Rights Office
The five corporate groups identified by the United Nations Human Rights Office are Motorola Solutions, Heidelberg Materials, Egis, CAF and Fosun. Fosun International also owns Ahava, and Ahava operates in the Mitzpe Shalem illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Stephen Humphreys said: "Evidence is growing that the UK may be in breach of its international obligations … by continuing to contract with entities identified by the UN as providing assistance of this sort," a warning that links procurement rules to the obligations set out by the International Court of Justice.
International Court of Justice ruling
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice found Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful and said Israel must end that presence as rapidly as possible. The court also placed obligations on other states not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel's illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
More than 140 UK Labour MPs are calling on the government to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements, and Prime Minister Andy Burnham is considering such a move. The unresolved point is which specific United Kingdom public bodies awarded the 125 contracts, leaving the procurement trail broad but still incomplete.
