Do YOU know if your Christmas pudding comes from an illegal Israeli settlement? Probably not.

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has written to the Department for Energy, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) calling for stronger government policy on ensuring that UK supermarkets don’t sell products from illegal Israeli settlements. It comes just as supermarkets enter their busiest period of the year – not least around Christmas pudding, which could contain a law-breaking ingredient.

The development comes after ICJP wrote to eight national supermarket chains, notifying Directors and Executives of their individually criminal liability for enabling criminal offences under domestic law.

Is your Christmas pudding breaking the law?

The initial notices were issued on the 30 October 2024 to Asda, Aldi, Lidl GB, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose & Partners, asking for clarity on what products they sell from illegal settlements and what steps they are taking to end the sale of these products.

Now, ICJP has written to DEFRA Secretary of State Steve Reed MP asking for the department to table legislation and implement clear, robust and enforceable guidelines prohibiting the import and sale of products from illegal Israeli settlements in the UK.

The urgency of such guidelines are even more evident following the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 Advisory Opinion, which found that the continued occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be unlawful.

The Opinion also obligates States such as the UK to refrain from entering into trade dealings with Israel. Specifically, this is any concerning the occupied Palestinian territory which may entrench Israel’s unlawful presence.

Supermarkets making a killing

Over the 2023 festive period, a record £13.7 billion was spent at British supermarkets. So, the average household spent £447 over the four-week lead up to Christmas.

Supermarkets are preparing for yet another windfall following the festive season. However, they cannot be allowed to brush over the fact that some of these profits come from the sale of goods produced in illegal settlements. All this is at the expense of Palestinians’ human rights.

Some of the key companies that export illegal Israeli settlement goods to the UK include:

• Mehadrin.
• Miriam.
• Shoham.
• Galilee.
• Hadiklaim.
• Achdut-Achva.

Moreover, these suppliers export many illegal goods including: #

• Dates (often found in Christmas puddings).
• Mangos.
• Avocados.
• Tahini.
• Halva.
• Bakery products.

ICJP Legal Officer Mira Naseer said:

Supermarkets are set to make record profits in the coming weeks and want the public to focus on polished Christmas adverts rather than the origins of the products they are selling. Illegal Israeli settlement goods have no place on the shelves of British supermarkets and the British public has the right to transparency about the origins of their groceries.

If supermarkets cannot be trusted to implement their human rights obligations, DEFRA must step in with clear, robust and enforceable guidelines to ensure that supermarkets do not sell products from illegal settlements.

Featured image via Envato Elements