Zack Polanski pushes Sadiq Khan on ‘unlawful activity’ at pro-Israel event

Green leader Zack Polanski has called for ‘immediate escalation’ from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan over clearly “unlawful activity” at the Great Israeli Real Estate event. Jewish anti-Zionists had joined protests outside the London event on 14 June to oppose its attempts to sell land in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories.

Polanski: ‘No impunity for hosts of deplorable Great Israeli Real Estate event’

In a letter to Khan, Polanski insisted that there had already been “substantial evidence ahead of the event” suggesting wrongdoing, and that authorities should have never allowed it to take place. But following the event, he stressed:

It has since come to light that materials handed out at the ‘Great Israeli Real Estate’ event included properties in Ma’ale Adumim and Givat Zeev in the West Bank and Ramat Eshkol and Givat HaMatos in East Jerusalem. [1] These settlements are illegal under international law.

He added that this is something the UK government itself accepts, saying:

The UK Government has repeatedly affirmed that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

In 2024, the International Court of Justice clarified that:

Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal

There is now clear evidence that the Great Israeli Real Estate event had unlawful activity at it.

I've written to the Mayor of London to ask what he intends to do about it.

This needs to be escalated immediately. pic.twitter.com/dnFhkP4XXt

— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) June 16, 2026

Edgware United Synagogue hosted the invite-only event. But activists managed to gain access, and they shared images with the media that show the marketing of property in illegal Zionist settlements in Palestine.

REVEALED: Jewish activists @JAZA_UK have shown us material from inside an Israeli property event in London yesterday, which shows that illegal settlements on Palestinian land were on sale in the UK.

Activists gained access to the event, spoke to numerous developers about the… pic.twitter.com/WsJ1hC1GlZ

— Declassified UK (@declassifiedUK) June 16, 2026

Looks like the Board Of Deputies should apologize for this denial below and the fake ‘refutation’. https://t.co/lbB5h4r0fe https://t.co/5p3PpL7Xme pic.twitter.com/IojypnmbZP

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) June 16, 2026

Utterly disgraceful: yet again the government of @Keir_Starmer ignores International Law and the @ICJ_org and sides with the oppressor & occupier against the subjugated & occupied https://t.co/kU4yQRU0Uv

— William Dalrymple (@DalrympleWill) June 15, 2026

Considering the increase in Zionist settler terror against Palestinians since Israel’s genocide escalated in 2023, Polanski argued that:

With horrific settler violence against Palestinians on the rise, it’s more important than ever that those involved in hosting this deplorable event in our city are not allowed to act with impunity.

Others agreed that there must be consequences:

There’s a serious case to be made that selling or facilitating sales of property in West Bank settlements amounts to aiding & abetting a war crime (transferring population to an occupied territory), punishable in UK law (ICC Act 2001)@SadiqKhan can’t just shrug this off https://t.co/DLvWNTAKsj

— North Herts Palestine Solidarity Campaign (@NHertsPsc) June 16, 2026

And Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer wondered if Khan would have been so permissive if the event had been selling Ukrainian land under Russian occupation:

Imagine for a second that a real estate conference took place in London where Russian occupiers sold stolen Ukrainian land and property.

You have to imagine, because that rightly wouldn't have been allowed. If it's stolen Palestinian land though, that's apparently totally fine. https://t.co/ooPmInhuzu

— Ross Greer (@Ross_Greer) June 16, 2026

Colonialism continues with “Anglo-communities” in Palestine

A Jewish Anti-Zionist Action member who got into the event told Al Jazeera that she’d heard no mention of Palestinians. When real estate agents mentioned illegally occupied Palestinian territory, meanwhile, there was talk of:

“Anglo-communities” where English-speaking people from the United States, the UK and South Africa could relocate to.

Amid Israel’s genocide in Gaza and violent rampage throughout the Middle East, she said a “popular selling point” was that real estate prices had fallen and buyers might get a discount.

As Polanski pointed out to Khan:

The Proceeds of Crime Act makes it illegal for promoters and estate agents operating in the UK to facilitate the sale of land acquired through illegal conduct.

He added that:

This needs to be escalated to the Metropolitan Police Service immediately, anything less fails to reflect the seriousness of the situation.

He also pushed Khan on whether police:

will be investigating the unlawful activities that took place on Sunday.

And considering the new evidence of illegality, he asked:

what action will you now take?

Khan had previously expressed his concern about the event. But now, as Polanski argued, Khan must go beyond words and take firm action.

Featured image via the Canary