MPs seek action over settlement-linked agency promoted at London travel fair

Fifteen British MPs have called for government intervention over the promotion of an Israeli agency linked to settlement construction at an international travel fair in London. Their appeal comes ahead of the World Travel Market, which is scheduled to run from 3 to 5 November, and seeks action before the event opens on Tuesday.

Middle East Eye reported last week that the Israeli government's tourist office would operate a stand shared by several Israeli businesses and organisations. Among them is iTravelJerusalem, which markets tourism in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem and is managed by the Jerusalem Development Authority. The authority, a statutory body of the Israeli government and Jerusalem municipality, undertakes development projects across the city and has been heavily involved in building and expanding illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

Independent MP Adnan Hussain sent the letter to Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on Monday, 2 November. Its cross-party signatories included Labour MPs John McDonnell and Kim Johnson, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, all five Green Party MPs, Scottish National Party MP Chris Law and independent MPs Shockat Adam, Iqbal Mohamed and Ayoub Khan.

The MPs asked ministers to approach the fair's organisers and secure the removal of exhibitors and promotional materials whose presence would help facilitate or promote illegal Israeli settlements. They also sought details of how the government was enforcing its ban on settlement advertising. In October, Britain recognised Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory as illegal and announced comprehensive sanctions on Israeli settlements.

The letter argued that allowing organisations implicated in settlement activity to promote themselves at a major London event was incompatible with the government's stated commitments. It pointed to Britain's condemnation of the forced displacement of Palestinians, its identification of ethnic cleansing in occupied Palestinian territory and its pledge to prohibit the promotion of illegal settlements in the UK.

A 2025 report from the Office of the European Union Representative for the West Bank and Gaza Strip said the Jerusalem Development Authority had planned the eviction of the Umm Haroun compound in Sheikh Jarrah, home to about 40 Palestinian families, and construction of a 320-unit settlement. The authority also plans a large settlement housing development beside the Palestinian community of Beit Safafa in East Jerusalem. In 2020, Israel's government approved its Jerusalem cable car project, which would require uprooting trees and displacing water, sewage and telecommunications infrastructure.

Responding to Middle East Eye's reporting last Thursday, Palestinian ambassador to Britain Hussam Zomlot accused Israeli companies due to appear at the event of ethnic cleansing. He urged the British government to enforce its commitments and ensure consequences for those complicit in the occupation and settlements.

Hussain's letter requested a prompt reply detailing concrete measures before the fair begins, saying a repetition of the government's position would be insufficient. Middle East Eye said neither World Travel Market nor the Foreign Office had responded to its requests for comment by publication.