U.K. Warning Business Community To Steer Clear of With West Bank
The British government is warning the business community to steer clear of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
New recommendations noting there are “clear risks” and the United Kingdom does “not offer support to such activity” were published last week on the U.K. Trade and Investment website in the section titled Overseas Business Risk–Israel.
The recommendations suggest that British and European Union citizens should “be aware of the potential reputational implications of getting involved in economic and financial activities in settlements, as well as possible abuses of the rights of individuals.”
They say the settlements, according to international law, “are built on occupied land and are not recognized as a legitimate part of Israel’s territory. This may result in disputed titles to the land, water, mineral or other natural resources which might be the subject of purchase or investment.”
The recommendations reiterate that the British government considers the West Bank — including eastern Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights – as territories occupied by Israel since 1967.
The section also states, however, that “The UK Government is deeply committed to promoting our trade and business ties with Israel and strongly opposes boycotts.”
On a positive note, the recommendations state that “Israel enjoys a strong entrepreneurial culture which nurtures and develops new ideas, making Israel a technology powerhouse.” Technology industries also have “an entrepreneurial start-up spirit,” according to the British government.
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
