Government’s anti-boycott, divestment and sanctions’ bill a threat to human rights

July 2023

This week (3 July) we have seen a major raid into the Jenin refugee camp by Israeli forces with reports of around 10 Palestinians dead and also deaths of Israeli soldiers (4 July). It is but the latest event in the long history of gradual dispossession of Palestinian land by settlers. Following the elections, settler forces have become more vocal. The justification for the raid is to root out terrorists who are killing Israeli settlers. In a previous post we noted that UK political parties are keen to deny that Israel operates an apartheid state with both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer denying such a thing exists.

The government has introduced a bill giving special status to Israel, preventing the Secretary of State from exempting Israel and the territories it occupies from its provisions. It also treats Israel in the same way as the territories it occupies, which is contrary to UN Security Council Resolutions the UK has endorsed. 

The ‘anti-BDS’ Bill is another example of the UK government trying to shield Israeli authorities from criticism of their human rights violations, instead of ensuring they face concrete consequences for their breaches of international law. That’s why as well as opposing the Bill, Amnesty is calling for all UK Parties to support a ban on Israeli settlement goods. 

This bill is particularly dangerous given the Israeli prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu announced plans just last week to press ahead with building even more illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which is a crime under international law. This move will see more Palestinian communities lose their homes, more pain and more apartheid. 

Even if the bill becomes law, the government could and should still ban settlement goods, because they arise from clear breaches of international law.