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On Monday 19 June, the UK government tabled The Economic Activity of Public Bodies Bill. The Bill is currently moving through the House of Commons. If passed, it will force public bodies to ignore ethical issues when considering investment in, or procuring services from foreign companies complicit in human rights abuses abroad.
The Bill states that Ministers could make exemptions for specific countries, but these exemptions could never include Israel, which is singled out for special protection against boycott campaigns – the only state afforded protection in this way. Moreover, this special protection extends to occupied Palestine and the occupied Golan Heights.
By offering the same protections to Israeli businesses, whether they are based in Israel or in Israeli settlements, the Bill is a departure from longstanding UK foreign policy and that of the UN Security Council, which could set a worrying new precedent.
