An international travel event in the United Kingdom is set to promote an Israeli agency and firms involved in the construction of illegal Israeli settlements and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, a report says.
The report, published by Middle East Eye on Thursday, reveals that World Travel Market (WTM) London will feature a stand run by the Israeli regime’s tourist office promoting the “Jerusalem Development Authority” (JDA) and affiliated companies.
The exhibition, scheduled to take place on November 3-5, promotes destinations and negotiates business deals.
The JDA is heavily involved in the construction and expansion of illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territory.
According to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, the JDA “illegally expropriates Palestinian land in occupied East Jerusalem [al-Quds] for the development of so-called Biblical parks.”
"Hundreds of Palestinians have been displaced or are at risk of being forced out of their homes to make space for these parks in violation of the Geneva Conventions. The JDA has also been instrumental in the expansion of illegal settlements in East Jerusalem [al-Quds], such as Gilo," the movement said.
The JDA also plans to build large settlement projects near the Palestinian neighborhoods of Beit Safafa and Sheikh Jarrah in East al-Quds, forcibly displacing dozens of Palestinian families.
In 2020, the Israeli regime approved a JDA project to build a cable car in al-Quds, which would involve the uprooting of trees and displacement of infrastructure including water, sewage and telecommunications.
Four foreign companies withdrew from the project, but the scheme is proceeding and continues to be actively promoted.
"This project threatens the Palestinian communities and the timeless landscape of Jerusalem’s [al-Quds’] historic core," Israeli NGO Emek Shaveh said.
"It is clear that the project’s central motivation is to consolidate the settlers’ hold in those areas as part of an effort to displace Palestinians from the Historic Basin and reshape Jerusalem’s [al-Quds] cultural landscape," it added.
The JDA is further promoting the controversial renovation of the Mamilla Pool tourist site in the old city in occupied al-Quds, threatening a centuries-old Palestinian Muslim cemetery.
The "iTravelJerusalem", which promotes tourism in East al-Quds and is managed by the JDA, is also among the companies set to be included in the stand.
Israel's stand at the event will also be shared with Africa Israel Hotels, which has also been involved in several settlement projects in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds.
The participation of the Israeli agency and travel firms in WTM London comes despite a ban imposed by the UK on goods produced in Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank last month.
Announcing the ban, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband referred to Israeli settlers as terrorists who are carrying out ethnic cleansing against Palestinians.
It also comes while Miliband slammed as “shameful” the hosting of the Great Israeli Real Estate Event in London in June. The event advertised properties in illegal Israeli settlements.
“We must and we will ensure that that never happens again, so we will ban the advertising in the UK of illegal settlements," Miliband said in September.
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in more than 230 settlements built across the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds since the 1967 occupation.
The international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention. The UN Security Council has also adopted multiple resolutions condemning Israel’s settlement activity.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and called for the evacuation of settlers from the occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds.
Despite the ruling, settlement expansion and Israeli measures affecting Palestinian communities have continued.
The Western countries have come under fierce criticism for failing to take action against Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the settler violence in the West Bank.
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