settlements

London, United Kingdom – Activists who gained access to the widely condemned Great Israeli Real Estate Event in London have shared photos with Al Jazeera that show property in illegal settlements being marketed.

The invite-only event, held at Edgware United Synagogue, was part of a roadshow promoting the sale of land and property in Israel, but in reality, these included homes in areas such as Givat Zeev and Tivuch Shelly in the occupied West Bank, as well as settlements in East Jerusalem.

“Exciting new project just 10 minutes from Jerusalem!” read a leaflet advertising homes, “some with pools!” in Maale Adumim, a West Bank settlement illegal under international law.

Isabel, a member of the Jewish Anti-Zionist Action group who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, said that the mood at the fair was peaceful and heavily protected, including by plainclothes men fitted with body cameras.

She did not hear any participants mention Palestinians, she said, adding that when it came to the occupied Palestinian territory, real estate agents spoke of “Anglo-communities” where English-speaking people from the United States, the UK and South Africa could relocate to.

She said a popular selling point used by real estate agents was that due to the war on Gaza, it was a good time to buy property in Israel, as prices had dropped and they might be willing to offer a discount.

The atmosphere reminded her of the opening week of university with social chatter, stalls and strangers pushing flyers at attendees.

“Unlike outside the synagogue, where there was lots of protests, it was calm inside with a heavy police presence, [security] people even wearing body cams. The room was all set up with stalls, in what I would describe as like freshers’ fair. On the tables were free pens, chocolates.”

When Isabel spoke with representatives from the Israeli real estate company Harey Zahav, she was shown advertisements for properties in Jerusalem as well as Netanya, a resort city in central Israel.

More than 100 British legislators, including members of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, had signed a letter on Friday urging the government to “uphold its obligations under international law” and ensure the event “promoting illegal activities does not proceed”.

Layla Moran, a British MP of Palestinian descent and one of the letter’s signatories, described the sales as “unacceptable”.

Gaza war could mean discounts, said participants

When Isabel told participants she was interested in something a little quieter, they said in hushed tones that they also had a portfolio of properties in “Judea and Samaria”, the Israeli term for the occupied West Bank.

One representative said that organisers asked them not to advertise properties in these locations. When asked why, he said it was due to these “crazy times” when people wanted to stop purchasing property in Israel.

He said they had all the information packs for those properties, but requested her details so he could send them to her afterwards.

At the stand of Tivuch Shelly, another Israeli real estate company, Isabel said representatives were more reticent to discuss properties in the occupied West Bank, but were openly advertising properties in Givat Hamatos and Ramat Eshkol, two settlements in occupied Jerusalem, on their flyers.

An activist with Jewish Anti-Zionist Action at one point shouted out that “this event sells property on illegally occupied stolen Palestinian land” before he was removed by security.

But the overall mood inside the fair was in sharp contrast to the protests and tense atmosphere outside the event.

In the buildup, rights groups, including Amnesty International, as well as the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, slammed the event for openly advertising the sale of land in illegal Israeli settlements.

Outside, hundreds of protesters shouted slogans and held posters reading, “Stop Israel’s illegal sale of stolen Palestinian land” and “Thou shalt not steal”.

The Metropolitan Police said 15 people were arrested during the demonstrations “for a range of offences, including public order matters”.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has written to Khan, calling for the event to be investigated by the Metropolitan Police.

Khan earlier said he had discussed the event with the London police force and had been told that any allegations of criminality relating to the potentially unlawful sale of property at the fair would be assessed by the Met as part of a probe.

Israeli settlement expansion

Israeli settlers are Israeli citizens who live illegally on Palestinian land.

Israel started building illegal settlements after capturing the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the June 1967 Six-Day War, and now, more than 700,000 settlers – 10 percent of Israel’s population – live in 150 illegal settlements and 128 outposts spread across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The government has openly funded and built settlements, and Israeli authorities give their settlers in the occupied West Bank about $5.6m a year to monitor, report and restrict Palestinian construction in Area C, which is administered solely by Israel and comprises more than 60 percent of the West Bank.

United Nations bodies and most countries view the West Bank settlements as illegal, citing international conventions.

But the US has provided diplomatic cover to Israel for decades, with Washington consistently using its veto power at the UN to protect Israel from diplomatic censure.