A diplomatic and legal controversy has erupted in the United Kingdom after London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed it will not launch a domestic investigation into a Sunday real estate event that advertised properties in illegally occupied Israeli settlements, according to exclusive reporting from independent outlet Middle East Eye (MEE).
The confirmation of the police’s position comes just days after British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that government ministers had referred the event, hosted at London’s Edgware United Synagogue, to the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for formal investigation. The controversy first gained public traction this Monday, when MEE published first-hand details of the event’s promotional materials, which explicitly listed properties located in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank—territory deemed illegal under international law.
MEE has since confirmed that the Metropolitan Police did receive a formal referral over the event, but has added it to the broader set of submissions the force has categorized as connected to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. A spokesperson for Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), which houses the national War Crimes Team responsible for reviewing such referrals, clarified the force’s current stance in a public statement. “The Counter Terrorism Policing War Crimes Team has received around 240 referrals relating to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict since 7 October 2023,” the spokesperson said. “At this time, there is no UK-based investigation into any matters relating to this particular conflict.”
The spokesperson declined to comment on the specific details of individual referrals, noting that all submissions are reviewed in line with joint War Crimes/Crimes Against Humanity Referral Guidelines agreed upon by UK police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
The event sparked widespread cross-party criticism well before the police’s confirmation. Last Friday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan publicly stated his opposition to the gathering, saying: “I share concerns about the Great Israeli Real Estate Event taking place in our city, which I oppose, and that’s why I’ve discussed this directly with the Met Police. I’m informed that any allegations of criminality relating to the potentially unlawful sale of property at the event would be assessed by the Met with a view to investigation.”
On the same day MEE published its initial reporting, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), a UK-based legal advocacy organization, submitted physical evidence—including photographs of promotional brochures and leaflets advertising illegal settlement properties—to the Metropolitan Police. Orlaith Roe, the ICJP’s public affairs and communications officer, criticized both Israeli policy and the UK government’s response to the event. “This is a question not only about political will but also about the blatant disregard of international law, not only by Israel via promoting the purchase of properties in illegal settlements as part of their sovereign territory, but also by the UK government which positions itself time and again as a champion of international law,” Roe said.
The debate moved to UK Parliament this Tuesday, where Green Party Member of Parliament Ellie Chowns pressed the Foreign Secretary over the government’s inaction. Chowns told parliament that Cooper had been notified of the planned event the previous week and had promised to review the issue. “That event took place. At that event, properties in illegal settlements were being marketed on British territory,” Chowns said. “The government has been sent the evidence about this. How is it that this government fails even to prevent the marketing of illegal property in this country and still fails to take action?”
In her response, Cooper reaffirmed the government’s opposition to commercial activity tied to illegal settlements, saying: “we have been very clear that not only should no businesses be engaging in trade and marketing around the illegal settlements, they certainly should not be doing so on UK soil. And that is why my colleague, the minister for the Middle East and North Africa, and also the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, have raised this directly with the advertising standards agency because we take this so seriously. We have asked them now to urgently look into this and to reassure us that if there is any evidence of the advertising or promotion of property in illegal settlements at this or any other events, they will uphold the law, regulations and guidance that apply.”