Police urged to investigate London event advertising settlement-linked Israeli agency

The Metropolitan Police have been urged to investigate the participation of an Israeli agency involved in the construction of illegal settlements at an international travel event in London. MEE revealed last week that the World Travel Market (WTM) event this week, which faced a pro-Palestine protest on Tuesday and will continue until Thursday, was set to feature a stand run by the Israeli government's tourist office. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP, a UK-based legal group, sent a letter to the Met Police's war crimes team on Tuesday demanding the "urgent investigation and consideration of preventative measures in relation to the reported participation of the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA), through its tourism platform iTravelJerusalem, at World Travel Market (WTM) London". Activists with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) protested next to Israel's stand on Tuesday, holding a banner reading "Every settlement is a war crime". Video footage showed two activists being physically removed from the event by security guards. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Ryvka Barnard, the deputy director of the PSC, told MEE: "The Israeli state's presence at the World Travel Market in London is an utter disgrace. "In September, when the foreign secretary acknowledged that Israel's occupation is illegal, he said he would ban the advertising of illegal settlements. But that's exactly what's happening here. "This is now a test for the Labour government. Will it stick to its word, intervene to shut down this stall and call for criminal investigations into its organisers, or will it reveal that those were just empty words?" Will it stick to its word, intervene to shut down this stall and call for criminal investigations into its organisers, or will it reveal that those were just empty words?" The Israeli stand is shared by numerous Israeli companies and organisations, including "iTravelJerusalem", which promotes tourism in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem and is managed by the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA). The JDA, a statutory agency of the Israeli government and the Jerusalem municipality, carries out development initiatives across Jerusalem and has been heavily involved in the construction and expansion of illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territory. Since 2023 the JDA has a contract with Finn Partners, a global marketing agency, to advertise Jerusalem as a tourism destination in Britain. 'These circumstances warrant urgent investigation' The ICJP's letter to the Met Police, seen by MEE, says: "Of particular concern is the commercial relationship between the JDA and WTM London... including the possibility that the organisers may receive exhibition fees or derive other financial benefits from the participation of an agency reportedly implicated in settlement related activities. "We consider that these circumstances warrant urgent investigation into potential offences." MEE has asked the Met Police and WTM for comment. Exclusive: London event advertises Israeli agency building illegal settlements Read More » This comes after 15 MPs wrote to the British government on Monday calling for "urgent action" on the event. The MPs demanded that the government "contact the organisers of WTM London and require the removal of exhibitors and promotional material where their participation would facilitate or promote illegal Israeli settlements". Last month, the British government recognised Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory as illegal and announced comprehensive sanctions on Israeli settlements. According to a 2025 report by the Office of the European Union Representative for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the JDA planned "for the eviction of the Umm Haroun compound - home to approximately 40 Palestinian families - and the construction of a 320-unit settlement" in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. In 2020, a JDA project to build a cable car in Jerusalem, which would involve the uprooting of trees and displacement of infrastructure including water, sewage and telecommunications, was approved by the Israeli government. The JDA also plans to build a large settlement housing project next to the Palestinian community of Beit Safafa in East Jerusalem. Hussam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to Britain, said in response to MEE's report last Thursday: "Next week Israeli companies guilty of ethnic cleansing will be platformed at [WTM London]." Zomlot added: "The UK government must now turn their words into action: enforce these commitments and ensure those complicit in illegal occupation and settlements face real consequences."