"The British embassy in Tel Aviv may have broken both UK sanctions law and UK government security policies by employing an Israeli citizen who owns a home in an illegal settlement in occupied Palestine, legal experts have said. The embassy's deputy head of corporate services and HR, Gila Ben-Yakov Phillips, moved to Kerem Reim in 2022. She listed a house she bought there as her home address on financial documents at the time."
"The settlement, north of Ramallah, was built by Amana, a construction company hit with sanctions last year for supporting, promoting and inciting violence against Palestinians. Amana has overseen the establishment of illegal outposts and provides funding and other economic resources for Israeli settlers involved in threatening and perpetrating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank, the UK said at the time."
"But residents of Amana projects are charged a monthly fee by the company, itemised on a financial statement seen by the Guardian. If you live there, you pay, said Dror Etkes, the director of Kerem Navot, which researches settlements and land use in the West Bank. The size of any payment is not relevant when assessing a possible violation of UK law, said Sara Segneri, a specialist in sanctions law and partner at Confinium Strategies. UK sanctions law does not have a de minimis exception."
The British embassy in Tel Aviv employed an Israeli citizen who owns a house in Kerem Reim, an illegal settlement in the West Bank. The deputy head of corporate services and HR listed the property as her home address on financial documents and shared social media posts promoting community programmes and subsidised housing. Kerem Reim was built by Amana, a company sanctioned for supporting and inciting violence and for funding settlers involved in aggression against Palestinian communities. The property was bought from previous residents before Amana sanctions. Residents are charged a monthly fee by Amana, and any payment could constitute a UK sanctions breach because there is no de minimis exception.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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