ANDY Burnham is under growing pressure to block an Israel-linked oil field after his government unveiled a raft of sanctions against illegal West Bank settlements.
The Prime Minister must reject the Rosebank development “as part of fulfilling” the UK Government’s responsibility to end its support for Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, according to a Labour backbencher.
Ithaca Energy owns a 20% stake in Rosebank, which is in turn majority owned by the Israeli firm Delek Group.
Delek is listed on a UN “blacklist” of companies which have “directly and indirectly enabled, facilitated and profited from the construction and growth of the settlements”.
The climate change pressure group Uplift estimates that, if approved, Rosebank could send more than £200 million to Delek through Ithaca Energy, which is headquartered in Aberdeen.
Since 2020, the company has funnelled £1 billion in dividends to the Israeli company, its largest shareholder.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced on Tuesday a ban on imported goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and a ban on UK companies providing services such as “construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate” for the expansion of settlements.
Stopping short of announcing a full arms embargo, as campaigners continue to demand, Miliband also announced that weapon sales licences already banned under the current regime would be refused if the UK Government believed they would be involved in settlement expansion.
In what has been hailed as a substantial and “overdue” shift in the UK Government’s position, the Foreign Secretary also announced that Britain would recognise the occupation of Palestine as unlawful.
But climate campaigners fighting the Rosebank development have said that the potential field’s links with Israeli settlements add to the reasons it should be rejected by the UK Government.
A consultation on whether the field should be given the go-ahead closed last month, and a decision from ministers is expected in the future.
Gillian Mackay, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, said: "Rosebank would lock us into decades more fossil fuels, drill a hole through our climate targets and undermine the just transition that our workers and communities are entitled to..
“The silence from the Scottish Government, on what was once their flagship policy, is giving Westminster all the wiggle-room it needs to green light Europe’s biggest new oil field.”
She called on the Scottish Government to outline its current stance on Rosebank, arguing that the SNP have walked back their opposition to the project, despite its links to Israel and illegal settlements.
The Green MSP added: "While the Scottish Government offers no clarity, the Scottish Greens will – Scotland should not be complicit in climate breakdown, nor the displacement and genocide of people.
“John Swinney must come clean and say whether his government still opposes Rosebank, and how working with investors like Delek Group complies with the Scottish Parliament’s vote over a year ago to boycott, divest and sanction Israel.
“Anything less would backtrack on Scotland’s previous climate leadership and our unwavering commitment to international law.”
Labour backbencher Richard Burgon, who has been banned from Israel as part of a retaliatory package of measures including closing the British consulate in Jerusalem, said rejecting Rosebank was part of Britain’s duty to stop activity which sustains the occupation of Palestine.
He said: “Tougher sanctions on Israel’s illegal settlements are a long-overdue and welcome step towards meeting our legal as well as our moral obligations.
“The International Court of Justice is clear that all states must not engage in any economic or trade relations that help sustain Israel’s unlawful occupation.
“As part of fulfilling that responsibility, we now need to reject the Rosebank oil field application. This could facilitate the flow of more than £200m in profits to a company flagged by the UN over business activities linked to human rights concerns in the occupied West Bank.”
A Green Party of England and Wales spokesperson said: "The UK should move quickly and decisively away from dirty fossil fuels. Not only have they caused extreme heat, wildfires, and drought in the UK this summer, new evidence suggests profits from North Sea oil and gas fields could fund Israel’s illegal occupation in the West Bank.
“No more excuses. No more equivocation. We need an urgent and clear statement from Andy Burnham’s government that there will be no new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea and a rapid transition to green energy.”
A spokesperson for Ithaca said: "Ithaca Energy is a London Stock Exchange listed company which is a member of the FTSE 100, and which is governed by the highest standards of corporate governance.
"Ithaca is one of the biggest investors in the North Sea and Scotland, is a responsible employer and is a major contributor to both the UK Treasury through tax payments and to the UK’s energy security.”
