No one - and no state - is above the law: consequences for Israeli illegality in the West Bank
Posted: 20th February 2026
31 British former ambassadors – including me – wrote to The Times on 18 February warning that Israel’s accelerating illegal land expropriation in the West Bank demands consequences before it is too late. The letter is reproduced below.
Britain’s condemnations are being ignored.
With tenders for the E1 settlement due to open on 16 March – a project designed to divide the West Bank in two and destroy the viability of a Palestinian state – the signatories argue that words must now be matched with action.
We propose that Britain, working with partners:
Warn companies that involvement in E1 will put their UK business access at risk;
Ban UK trade in goods, services and investment with settlements, consistent with the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion;
Suspend trade concessions under the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement for Israel’s breach of its human rights clause.
Britain has a historic responsibility to show that there are consequences for illegality.
I expanded on this argument on BBC Radio 4’s World at One. Click here for the transcript.
Yesterday Sir Keir Starmer said no one is above the law. The same goes for states – or should do. The choice has long been clear.
Will Britain uphold international law consistently, without fear or favour? It’s up to us to insist that it does so.
With thanks for your continued support,
Sir Vincent Fean
Trustee, Britain Palestine Project
LETTER TO THE TIMES
18 February 2026
Sir, Israel should listen to its friends. Not only does its government restrict aid access to Gaza and ban 37 reputable NGOs (including Médecins Sans Frontières) from working in Palestine, but it is going for broke implementing its avowed policy of land expropriation in the West Bank.
Our government has condemned each Israeli illegal act, stating on February 9 that “any unilateral attempt to alter the geographic or demographic make-up of Palestine is wholly unacceptable and would be inconsistent with international law”. But that is what is happening on the ground. Tenders to build the E1 settlement — dividing the West Bank in two with the deliberate intent to destroy Palestine’s viability — will be opened in one month. After that, E1 will become unstoppable.
Britain’s words are ignored. Action is needed before it is too late. Britain should now give a lead to the like-minded in Europe, Australia and Canada by: warning that any individual or corporate body engaging in planning and building the E1 settlement puts at risk their ability to do business in or with the UK; banning UK trade in goods, services and investment with settlements, consistent with the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice; and suspending trade concessions with Israel for its breach of the human rights clause in the UK-Israel trade and partnership agreement.
Britain need not act alone — but it has a historic responsibility to show that there are consequences for illegality, and to help to safeguard the state of Palestine which it has recognised.
Sir Vincent Fean, former consul-general, Jerusalem;
Lord Hannay of Chiswick, former ambassador to the UN (New York);
Ann Grant, former high commissioner to South Africa;
Sir Peter Westmacott, former ambassador to the United States;
Sir Emyr Jones Parry, former ambassador to the UN (New York);
Frances Guy, former ambassador to Yemen;
Sir William Patey, former ambassador to Afghanistan;
Sir Tony Brenton, former ambassador to Russia; Sir David Reddaway, former ambassador to Turkey;
Sir Colin Budd, former ambassador to the Netherlands;
Peter Jenkins, former ambassador to the UN (Vienna);
Edward Chaplin, former ambassador to Italy;
Sir Edward Clay, former high commissioner to Kenya;
Alan Charlton, former ambassador to Brazil;
Nick Hopton, former ambassador to Iran;
Anthony Layden, former ambassador to Morocco;
Peter Collecott, former ambassador to Brazil;
Richard Makepeace, former consul-general, Jerusalem;
Peter Millett, former ambassador to Libya;
Richard Northern, former ambassador to Libya;
Chris O’Connor, former ambassador to Tunisia;
Thom Reilly, former ambassador to Morocco;
David Richmond, former director general, Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
Sir Harold Walker, former ambassador to Iraq;
Sir Richard Dalton, former ambassador to Iran;
Robin Lamb, former ambassador to Bahrain;
Robin Kealy, former ambassador to Tunisia;
Christopher Segar, former ambassador to Iraq;
Rupert Joy, former EU ambassador to Morocco;
James Watt, former ambassador to Egypt;
Jon Wilks, former ambassador to Qatar.
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