A new investigative report by Middle East Eye (MEE) has exposed unreported links between an upcoming Israeli real estate exhibition in London and companies operating in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, sparking widespread cross-party political outcry, demands for a ban, and official government scrutiny.
The Great Israeli Real Estate Event is slated to open this Sunday, June 14, but organizers have so far refused to publicly disclose its venue in the UK capital. What has already been made public, however, is the participation roster of exhibiting firms, posted to Facebook earlier this week by Emanuel Vatari, CEO of the Emanuel Group — one of the event’s lead sponsors.
Among the confirmed participants is Harey Zahav, an Israeli property development firm that openly advertises residential units in Negohot, an illegal Israeli settlement located in the southern Hebron Hills of the occupied West Bank. Another exhibitor, the Meshulam Levinstein Group — a conglomerate spanning construction, engineering, and real estate — has a documented track record of building both residential and commercial developments in illegal settlements across the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, including a major housing and retail project in the Homat Shmuel settlement neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Additional participating firms include Tivuch Shelly, a real estate agency that markets properties in the large West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adunim, and Africa Israel Residences, a subsidiary of the Africa Israel Group that has led multiple settlement development projects in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The revelations come just one day after the UK government announced a new policy that explicitly advises British businesses against engaging in any economic or financial activity tied to illegal Israeli settlements. When questioned by Labour MP Richard Burgon earlier this week on whether the government would move to ban the event, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told reporters: “We are pursuing this particular event, and also if there are any cases where we find that there are breaches of UK law, we will pursue those issues as well.” MEE has already submitted documented evidence of the event’s settlement connections to the Foreign Office for official review.
Organizers have pushed back forcefully against the allegations, telling Jewish News this week that none of the properties on display at the event are located beyond the Green Line — the 1949 armistice line that marks the pre-1967 borders of Israel. In a statement, they dismissed the claims as “ridiculous allegations” motivated by “anti-Israeli and terrorist supporters, seeking only excuses to attack Jews in general and the State of Israel in particular.”
This is not the first time the event has generated international controversy. A similar iteration of The Great Israeli Real Estate Event held in New York City last month drew widespread condemnation after outlet The Intercept confirmed at least one exhibitor was advertising land sales in multiple occupied settlements including Kfar Eldad and Karnei Shomron. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly stated he was “deeply opposed” to the expo over its promotion of settlement land sales.
In London, senior political figures have united in calls to cancel the event entirely. Green Party leader Zack Polanski described the prospect of hosting an expo advertising settlement property as obscene, particularly amid a documented surge in violent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian communities in the West Bank. “Sadiq Khan should intervene to stop this event taking place in our city and show that London does not tolerate complicity with the dispossession and subjugation of the Palestinian people,” Polanski told MEE. Former Labour leader and Your Party leader Jeremy Corbyn echoed the condemnation, saying: “Israel is now selling Palestinian land at a real estate fair in London this weekend. Let us all say: no, it is totally wrong, illegal and unconscionable that an occupying power would travel abroad to sell land that isn’t theirs, to make even more Palestinian people homeless.” MEE has reached out to London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s office for comment on Polanski’s call for intervention.
Legal and human rights groups have also joined the campaign to block the event. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), a UK-based legal organization, has submitted a formal letter to London’s Metropolitan Police demanding an immediate investigation into whether the event violates UK domestic law, and has also contacted Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Business Secretary Peter Kyle to push for action. “The prospect of an event in London promoting property in illegal Israeli settlements is outrageous and flies in the face of the UK’s own longstanding position on the matter,” said ICJP public affairs officer Orlaith Roe. “Palestinian land is not for sale, and occupation is not a real estate opportunity. It is a violation of international law. I would also remind the Home Secretary that she has the power to prevent this event from going ahead and to ensure the UK’s own position on the illegality of Israeli settlements is upheld.” Amnesty International UK has also publicly urged the government to take immediate action to cancel the event.
Even as organizers reject the allegations, public pressure has already prompted small changes to the event’s online presence: as of this week, the event’s website displays a map of Israel that incorporates the entire occupied Palestinian territories, though references to Gush Etzion — a major cluster of illegal settlements south of Jerusalem — that were previously visible on the site have been removed. Jeanine Hourani, a representative of the Palestinian Youth Movement which is leading grassroots campaigning to cancel the expo, said the removal showed pressure was having an impact, but added: “this is not enough. Our demand has been clear from the beginning: for the entire event to be cancelled.”
Multiple UK parliamentarians have also stressed that allowing the event to proceed would amount to implicit endorsement of illegal settlement activity. “This is not a neutral property event. It is an expo that, according to its own promotional material and participating companies, will showcase and market housing connected to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank,” said independent MP Shockat Adam. Fellow independent MP Adnan Hussain added: “to allow the event would be to indicate approval of Israel’s illegal activities in the occupied West Bank.”
The controversy comes amid growing scrutiny of UK links to Israeli settlements, with Labour MP Melanie Ward this week criticising 32 British charities that she has documented have sent more than £28 million ($37.5 million) to Israeli settlements over recent years. Ward last week submitted a formal complaint to the UK’s Charity Commission over the groups, and when asked to confirm whether charitable donations to settlements are banned, Prime Minister Keir Starmer only stated that “no UK charity should be supporting [settlements]”.
As of publication, MEE has attempted to contact the event’s primary organizers for additional comment but has not received a response.