Despite denials from organisers, evidence gathered inside the event shows occupied Palestinian land was being marketed

Properties from seven illegal settlements were advertised at the Great Israeli Real Estate Event on Sunday in London, days after more than 100 MPs and groups urged the UK government to ban it.

Organisers had told journalists last week that all exhibitors at the event “without exception” would only provide information about properties for sale within the Green Line – the internationally recognised border between Israel and Palestine.

But brochures circulated at the event which Jewish Anti-Zionist Action (JAZA) shared with Declassified and others posted online show companies touting properties for sale in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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In one pamphlet, Harry Zahev Developers advertises apartments and private homes in Kfar Eldad and Teneh Omarim, illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank near Palestinian towns and communities.

“Bringing gardens and spaces where nature is your closest neighbour,” the pamphlet reads.

In another brochure, the Jerusalem Real Estate company offers the city’s “most sought-after Anglo neighborhoods” including French Hill and Ramat Eshkol, two settlement neighbourhoods in occupied east Jerusalem. 

Neither company responded immediately to requests for comment on Monday. Declassified attempted to reach the event organisers, but could not find any contact details.

Other illegal Israel settlements featured in the promotional materials which JAZA collected include the West Bank settlements of Ma’ale Adumim and Givat Ze’ev, and Givat Hamatos, a settlement currently under construction in East Jerusalem.

“Through these pamphlets and information we collected on the inside, we can prove that this event was selling properties in the occupied West Bank,” said Guy Zilberman, a JAZA activist who gained entry to the exhibition.

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‘Crazy times’

Zilberman described his experience at the real estate show. “After passing through security, I was given a free tote bag and a booklet advertising the different real estate companies present at the fair that day,” he said.

At the stall for one developer, he said he was told the company had “properties they were selling in ‘Judea and Samaria’ that he thought would be perfect for me”.

The company representative “had all the booklets and papers for it but couldn’t get them out because the police had said in order for the event to go ahead they couldn’t advertise properties illegal under international law,” Zilberman said.

The man then told him these were “crazy times we live in” and asked for Zilberman’s contact details so he could follow up after the event. 

He visited another stall and said he was given a leaflet advertising properties in Ma’ale Adumim, which is an illegal West Bank settlement. 

After about an hour inside, Zilberman disrupted the event, calling for “sanctions now” and saying “don’t steal” in Hebrew.

“After disrupting the event, I was pulled out by my neck by security,” Zilberman said.

He noted that the Board of Deputies had said that the event was “an excuse to harass and intimidate members of the Jewish community”. 

“I would invite the Board of Deputies to look at the documents here that clearly depict in writing that these properties in illegally occupied territories…have been advertised at this event,” he said.

The Board of Deputies did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

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‘Empty words’

The revelation that properties from illegal settlements were advertised at the event will bring pressure on the foreign secretary who promised last week to pursue “any cases where there are breaches of UK law” when pressed about the event.

Several civil society groups had also called on the Metropolitan Police to investigate the show.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Friday that he had discussed the event directly with the force and had been “informed that any allegations of criminality related to the unlawful sale of property at the event would be assessed by the Met with a view to investigation”.

Declassified has shared the promotional materials with the Foreign Office, which did not respond when asked to comment, and the Met Police which declined to comment specifically on the matter.

Instead, a Counter Terrorism Policing spokesperson told Declassified that it has received around 240 referrals related to the Israel-Hamas conflict since 7 October 2023. 

Declassified understands one of the referrals relates to the real estate event.

“We will not be commenting on the specific nature of each and every referral. As is the case with all referrals, they are assessed by specialist officers to determine whether any UK-based investigation may be required,” the spokesperson said.

“Each and every referral made to the War Crimes Team is reviewed in line with War Crimes/Crimes Against Humanity Referral Guidelines, jointly agreed by police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

They added: “At this time, there is no UK-based investigation into any matters relating to this particular conflict.”

Jeanine Hourani, an organiser with the Palestinian Youth Movement, which protested outside the event, said: “In the last week, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper claimed to be acting against settler violence by preventing British businesses from conducting economic or financial activities with Israeli settlements in the West Bank. 

“In response to the ‘Great Israeli Real Estate Event’, she claimed to be ‘pursuing that particular event’. But these are empty words given her failure to take action.”