The case for sanctions on Israel’s economy

Type: Campaign briefings
Date: 24 April 2025
Campaigns: Palestine, Trade

Over the last 18 months, Israel has been accused of, or found responsible for, grave breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law. At the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Israel is under investigation for genocide in Gaza, while a separate ICJ case in July 2024 confirmed that Israel’s occupation policies in the West Bank amount to apartheid.

Both cases place significant obligations on states like the UK. The government must ensure it is not helping maintain Israel’s illegal occupation and that it has taken all available steps to prevent genocide, including through its economic relationships. The UK has so far failed to act on these obligations, even continuing to engage in talks over a new trade deal with Israel.

Many of the sectors the UK has prioritised in the proposed trade deal, including cyber security and artificial intelligence, include companies involved in developing tools used to entrench Israel’s illegal occupation and support its military activities in Gaza. As such, a new trade deal could help Israeli firms export and profit from technologies that have been used in the commission of human rights abuses. At a minimum the government must cancel these talks, but a broader set of trade sanctions is also necessary for the UK to comply with its international legal obligations.