ICJP

8 national supermarkets threatened with legal action for selling illegal goods from Israeli settlements

30th October 2024- The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians has threatened legal action against eight major national supermarket chains based in the UK, if they continue to sell products made in illegal Israeli settlements in their supermarkets. Individual Directors and Executives of supermarkets have been warned that they may be individually liable for enabling criminal offences under domestic law.

The notices were issued to Asda, Lidl GB, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose & Partners, informing them that they each had fourteen days to respond with clarification, providing various assurances. In particular, they have been asked to clarify what products they sell from illegal settlements, what steps they are taking to end the sale of these products, and what due diligence steps they are taking to ensure products sourced from third-party suppliers are not mislabelled or repackaged to disguise their point of origin. 

As well as highlighting relevant legislation, the notices provided a summary of the key companies that export illegal Israeli settlement goods to the UK. These include Mehadrin, Miriam, Shoham, Galilee, Hadiklaim and Achdut-Achva. These suppliers export many illegal goods including dates, mangos, avocados, tahini, halva and bakery products.

All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international humanitarian law, (IHL), forming a crucial part of Israel’s illegal occupation and settlement expansion of the occupied Palestine territory (oPt), as ruled on by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the 19th July 2024. The summary of the crimes outlined by the ICJ are criminal offenses under the Rome Statute of the ICC, which can lead to individual liability. 

By ending the sale of illegal goods, supermarkets will not only be helping customers who choose to boycott Israeli settlement goods from making ethical shopping decisions, but the supermarkets would also be protecting themselves from legal consequences. Under Section 52 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001 and Sections 328 and 329 of the Proceeds of Crimes Act 2002, Directors and Executives of supermarkets could be individually liable under domestic law for their role in selling illegal settlement goods. 

ICJP’s legal officer Mira Naseer said:

“Consumers are voting with their wallet and boycotting Israeli settlement products on an unprecedented scale. It is an insult to supermarkets’ customers if any goods are being mislabelled or repackaged, and they are being tricked into buying illegal settler goods – supermarkets must make it clear that this is not happening.

But even for their own sake, directors and executives could be breaking domestic law by selling these Israeli settlement products. Let alone doing the moral thing for their customers or for the world, but even to protect themselves, they must stop selling these illegal settler products.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

  1. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law. 
  2. For more information, to arrange an interview with an ICJP spokesperson, please contact the ICJP news desk at press@icjpalestine.com.