London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned an Israeli real estate exhibition scheduled for Sunday, June 14 in London, after its website listed the West Bank settlement of Gush Etzion — which the United Kingdom considers illegal — among places where property inquiries could be made. The event, branded the “Great Israeli Real Estate Event 2026,” drew calls from rights groups, senior politicians, and the Palestinian Youth Movement for the UK government to cancel it.
Khan told the London Assembly on Friday that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are “unjustifiable and illegal under international law,” and said he condemns “any attempt to sell property in the settlements in the West Bank, be that in London or anywhere else in the world.” He also confirmed he had written directly to the Home Office and the Foreign Office to register his concerns.
Khan said he had discussed the matter directly with the Metropolitan Police, who confirmed they would investigate any allegations of criminality relating to the potentially unlawful sale of property arising from the event.
The pressure is coming from multiple directions at once. A letter signed by 98 cross-party MPs and members of the House of Lords, organised by Labour MP Andy McDonald, called on Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to act — warning that allowing the event to proceed would be “inconsistent with current UK Government guidance on settlement-related economic activity” and would place Britain in opposition to its obligations under international law. Signatories included Labour’s Stella Creasy, Liberal Democrat Layla Moran, Conservative Kit Malthouse, and Green Party MP Dr Ellie Chowns.
McDonald went further than cancellation. He called on ministers to “urgently instruct the National Crime Agency to investigate the organisers and participants under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.”
The event’s organisers have rejected all allegations. A spokesperson told Jewish News that the claims were “strongly denied,” stating that “all exhibitors, without exception, will provide information about properties and projects within the Green Line.” The spokesperson added that the allegations were “motivated by anti-Israeli and terrorist supporters, seeking only excuses to attack Jews in general and the State of Israel in particular.”
But the event’s own website complicated that denial. The Gush Etzion settlement in the occupied West Bank — which the UK considers illegal — was listed on the site among places where visitors could make property inquiries, even as the organisers maintained that all exhibitors would operate within Israel’s Green Line. According to Byline Times, references to Gush Etzion were subsequently removed from the site following parliamentary and public pressure.
The Palestinian Youth Movement launched its “Stop Stolen Land Sales” campaign in direct response to the expo, bringing together more than 100 organisations condemning the event and calling on the British government to cancel it. Amnesty International UK also condemned the event and called on the UK government to take immediate action.
Jeanine Hourani, a representative of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said the campaign was about more than a single event. “Palestinians and Arabs in the diaspora cannot and will not allow the sale of land to take place in our local communities here in Britain,” she told Byline Times. “The land that the ‘Great Israeli Real Estate Event’ aims to auction off here in London was stolen from our parents and grandparents.”
Amnesty International UK’s Crisis Response Manager, Kristyan Benedict, said: “The UK cannot condemn settlements with one hand while allowing them to be openly marketed here with the other. Stop this event, ban settlement trade, and start treating Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign with the urgency it demands.”
The venue situation added further instability to the event’s status. Jewish News reported that the original London venue withdrew from the arrangement, forcing the exhibition to relocate. Despite the venue change, the event was expected to go ahead on Sunday at an alternative, undisclosed location.
Regional and Global Impact
The controversy is landing at a moment of escalating UK government action on Israeli settlement activity. Foreign Secretary Cooper announced this week that the UK would impose sanctions on six organisations and one individual involved in the financing, enabling, and carrying out of settler violence in the West Bank, in co-ordination with Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, and Norway. Cooper also said the UK Charity Commission would investigate British charities’ links to illegal settlements, and that updated guidance would be issued to British businesses advising them not to trade with illegal settlements.
A UK government spokesperson told Byline Times that the Israeli government “must clamp down on settler violence and end settlement expansion,” adding that updated guidance for businesses on how to avoid ventures supporting illegal settlements would be issued in the coming days.
The broader context includes Israel’s announcement this month of a call for tenders for the E1 settlement, which campaigners say would sever the West Bank from East Jerusalem. Labour MP Melanie Ward raised in Parliament that 32 charities in England and Wales had donated at least £28 million to illegal settlements in the West Bank, noting that any donations subject to gift aid would require the UK government to effectively subsidise those donations.
Background
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law by the United Nations, the UK government, and a wide range of international bodies. The UK has paused free trade agreement negotiations with Israel, stating it was not possible to advance discussions with a government pursuing “such egregious policies” in Gaza and the West Bank. The “Great Israeli Real Estate Event” is a travelling roadshow that has previously held events across North America and more recently in London. The event has attracted protests in North America on similar grounds, with campaigners making comparable allegations; organisers have consistently denied those claims. In 2024, organisers cancelled an edition planned for Brooklyn amid widespread protest, according to the Palestinian Youth Movement.
What Happens Next
Campaign groups are expected to rally outside the event on Sunday, June 14, whose location had not been made public as of Friday. The Metropolitan Police confirmed they would assess any allegations of criminality relating to property sales arising from the event with a view to investigation. The UK government said updated business guidance would be issued in the coming days. The Charity Commission investigation into British charities’ links to illegal settlements is also underway following Cooper’s announcement this week.
