Historic decision of the British Supreme Court shocking companies investing in Israel

Al Jazeera Net - London 

A long legal battle waged by the campaign of solidarity with Palestine against the British government over the illegality of government directives that were demanding local pension funds not to withdraw their investments from companies involved in repression against the Palestinians, and also not to withdraw their money from the military industries in the country.

The legal conflict lasted for four years, before this week the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court of Justice, which is the highest judicial body in the country, decides that government directives are illegal, and the campaign of solidarity with Palestine is likely to win a historic victory, which will have many legal consequences in The next stage.

The British government has published regulations that serve as guidelines for local pension funds or municipalities so that they do not withdraw their money from companies operating in settlements or security companies involved in violence against Palestinians, as well as arms companies that export weapons that are used against civilians in Palestine.

Immediately after this directive, the Solidarity Movement with Palestine decided to file a lawsuit against the illegality of these directives, which it deems depriving British retirees of their right to know how to invest their money, and extending the jurisdiction of the municipalities.

Indeed, the court of first instance upheld the demands of the solidarity campaign, before the British government appealed the decision and won the case, then the final say of the Supreme Court that granted the Solidarity Movement with Palestine was a historic victory.

And the Supreme Court’s decision gives the municipalities the right to withdraw their investments from companies operating in Israel, as well as from defense industries if any company is found to be involved in violating human rights, especially as the government was justifying the issuance of those regulations that it comes to preserve the country's economic and military interests.

Massive investments
The size of the British direct investments in Israel is about 300 billion dollars, a figure that is constantly increasing, but looking into the areas that British investments focus on will show that they are present in the defense, security, space research and technology companies.

For this reason, the Supreme Court’s decision will affect British investments in Israel, especially that it granted local pension funds to withdraw their investments from any defense manufacturing company involved in human rights violations, which will make these companies a balance between pension fund funds - which are lucrative funds - and cooperation with a country Occupation. 

A study carried out by the Solidarity Campaign with Palestine showed that 117 British universities invest about $ 600 million in companies in collusion with the occupation and its repression against the Palestinians. These investments are focused on security companies specializing in the manufacture of monitoring equipment and programs, including those operating in settlements.

For example, the prestigious Imperial College University is investing more than $ 3 million in a company called "Cisco System", a technology company located in the Negev and the occupied Golan, which manufactures monitoring equipment in occupied Jerusalem, in addition to providing technological information to the occupation army.

During the past few years, several British companies were forced to withdraw their investments from Israel, especially those working in private security, as happened with the company "G4S" (G4S), which withdrew from the occupying country due to the increasing human rights pressures on it.

With the increasing pressure of the boycott movement, the British Ministry of Foreign Trade issued a guide warning British companies to warn them against investing in settlements or companies operating there, not only because of financial and legal risks, but also because of the "risks of hitting the reputation of companies if they operate in settlements."

A historic victory
The head of the Solidarity campaign with Palestine, Professor Kamel Hawash, described the Supreme Court’s decision as a historic victory and "a great victory, not only for the campaign of solidarity with Palestine, but for the principles and values ​​of democracy, freedom of expression and justice."

 He considered that this ruling sends a clear message to the British government that it is not entitled to dictate to the municipalities how to choose to invest retirement funds, including choosing not to invest in companies complicit with Israeli violations.

For his part, the head of the European-Palestinian Communication Forum, Zahir Berawi, considered in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net that this ruling will be a motive for solidarity campaigns and boycott campaigns and for all activists defending Palestinian rights to do more work and struggle in defense of Palestinian rights in the West in general and in all possible ways, especially in the field Legal.

Berrawi believes that the legal and legal battle is still long and "needs the efforts of all sincere people to promote the Palestinian right and the correct version of the conflict with the occupation and its tools that try to delegitimize the activists who support the Palestinian right and the solidarity and human rights institutions."

As for the head of the Arab Thinking Forum in London, Mohamed Amin, he believes that the ruling will be a strong response against the "chaotic campaign that the Zionist lobby in Britain has led for years against institutions and people in solidarity with the Palestinian people."

Amin pointed out that this campaign was the focal point in which it was the continuous endeavor "to delegitimize and criminalize those institutions and their counterparts from boycott campaigns that withdraw British investments from Israeli settlements and impose trade sanctions on Israel."

He added that the ruling is an important legal document that will serve as a bulwark against "the bullying and the Zionist lobby, which is trying, through all media and legal methods, to pressure the government to criminalize institutions in solidarity with Palestine and ban its activities."

In a statement to Al-Jazeera Net, spokesperson for the Popular Congress of Overseas Palestinians expects that this decision will put "the British government supporting Israel in a difficult position, as it prepares to enact new laws criminalizing boycott movements."

He added that this ruling "will give strength to the boycott movements in the world and a legal justification for using it against any step that attempts to legalize settlement as illegal, and will put pressure on British arms companies that support the occupation and use this weapon against the Palestinians."