THE Labour Government is “pretending” to abide by international law in its dealings with Israel, an SNP MP had said in a letter to the Foreign Secretary.
Lara Bird, who was elected to represent Arbroath and Broughty Ferry last month, raised concerns that the UK had failed to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements despite a ruling from the UN’s highest judicial body, the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In July 2024, the ICJ issued an advisory ruling saying that Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territories like Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank was “illegal” and restitution would include the return of all lands, the evacuation of all settlers, the dismantling of border walls, and compensation from Israel where any of this would be impossible.
The ICJ ruling further said that other UN states, including the UK, were therefore obliged to “ensure compliance by Israel with international humanitarian law” and to refrain from any dealings with Israel relating to occupied Palestinian land.
However, the UK Government has not introduced a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements, and two years on still has not responded to the ICJ ruling.
Earlier this week, Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer was asked why there had been such a delay in a UK response – in March 2025 he’d said ministers needed “a bit more time” – but suggested it could be “another year” before any was forthcoming.
Now, SNP MP Bird has written to the Foreign Secretary to “demand urgent clarity on the UK Government’s position regarding settlement trade with Israel”, saying she is “outraged and distressed by the continued inaction”.
“Banning settlement trade with Israel is not an option; it is an obligation. For every day that you fail to meet this obligation, you hand more and more power to an illegal regime,” Bird wrote.
“The state of Israel benefits from impunity for their crimes because governments such as yours continually fail to sanction apartheid and annexation, despite these crimes being widely acknowledged by the UN, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, among others.
“Moreover, the ICJ advisory opinion of July 2024 concluded that if states accept the illegality of Israel’s occupation, then they must not support the illegal occupation. In order to comply with international law, states must take steps to break economic ties with Israel.
“In a statement in the Chamber on July 1, you confirmed that the British Government opposes the E1 settlement plan and that the expansion of Israeli settlements and settler violence is unlawful. Yet, while you hold these statements in one hand, you continue to give Israel carte blanche with the other.
“This is not a mere misstep of a state. This is the intentional and systematic destruction of an entire population by Israel. Until settlement trade is banned by your government, there will continue to be a direct link from the UK sustaining the unlawful occupation and annexation of Palestine.
“It is incompatible for you to continue to pretend that the UK Labour Government is complying with international law while you refuse to ban all settlement trade with Israel.”
Bird asked for the Foreign Secretary to provide a detailed assessment of the reasoning behind its failure to act on the ICJ ruling.
Last month, a joint letter signed by 140 MPs including former ministers and all of the Labour chairs of Westminster select committees said there is an “urgent need for accountability and concrete consequences in response to Israel’s violations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which are spiralling by the day”.
It added: “Settlements – and all the violations which come with them – are sanctioned, incentivised and financially enabled by the Israeli government. In February 2026, it was stated that our UK Labour Government ‘will take concrete steps in accordance with international law to counter settlement expansion and to challenge policies and threats of forcible displacements and annexation’. But since then, the situation has worsened considerably and the government has taken no further action. This is unacceptable.”
The Foreign Office has been approached for a response.
