UK has billions in contracts with firms tied to illegal Israeli settlements

Published On 28 Aug 202628 Aug 2026.

Key points

• In Britain, five Heidelberg Materials firms hold 25 public-sector contracts worth 184.79 million pounds ($252m).
• In July 2024, the International Court of Justice discovered Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful and stated it must end "as rapidly as possible".
• Who Profits, a group that researches links between the private sector and the economy in the Israeli-occupied territories, remarked the approval was granted on May 28, 2025.
• In 2005, the UN documented that Motorola supplied surveillance systems to settlements including Hebron, Karmei Tzur and Bracha.
• Its Israeli subsidiary, Hanson Israel, owns the Nahal Raba quarry, south of Qalqilya in the West Bank.

At least 17 firms linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank hold United Kingdom public-sector contracts worth more than 2.1 billion pounds ($2.85bn), an Al Jazeera investigation reveals.

Notably, the findings come as more than 140 UK Labour MPs are calling on the administration to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements, a move Prime Minister Andy Burnham is considering.

Our analysis of procurement records, firm filings and corporate disclosures identified that businesses named by the United Nations over their involvement in illegal Israeli settlements – and firms those businesses ultimately own or control as subsidiaries – have secured contracts throughout the British public sector, including in areas such as road maintenance, transport, emergency services and driving licensing.

"Evidence is growing that the UK may be in breach of its international obligations. By continuing to contract with entities identified by the UN as providing assistance of this sort, " Stephen Humphreys, professor of international law at the London School of Economics, informed Al Jazeera.

Data compiled by public procurement analysts Tussell, and shared with Al Jazeera, demonstrates the 17 businesses and entities hold 125 public-sector contracts with a combined award value of 2.129 billion pounds ($2.89bn).

Firms owned by Motorola Solutions, the United States technology and communications giant, account for more than 1.7 billion pounds ($2.3bn) of the total – the vast majority through its British subsidiary Airwave Solutions. Other contracts we reviewed are held by firms within four other corporate groups including Heidelberg Materials, a German multinational building materials firm; the French engineering group Egis; the Spanish train manufacturer CAF and Chinese conglomerate Fosun.

For context, a report by the United Nations Human Rights Office identifies the five corporate groups as involved in business activities related to illegal Israeli settlements.

While Motorola is embedded in the security infrastructure of illegal settlements, heidelberg Materials' Israeli subsidiary owns a quarry on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. Egis and CAF are involved in Jerusalem's expanding light-rail network – a project activists say entrenches Israel's control by integrating settlements into the city while further fragmenting Palestinian neighbourhoods.

Fosun International, whose subsidiary Breas Medical receives UK public funds, additionally owns the controversial Israeli cosmetics manufacturer Ahava. It operates in the Mitzpe Shalem illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank. Civil rights groups, including the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign in the UK, decry Ahava as a firm that is "complicit" in the theft of Palestinian land and livelihoods. Meanwhile, violence is escalating in the occupied West Bank.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice discovered Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful and stated it must end "as rapidly as possible". The court additionally placed obligations on other states "not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel's illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory".

That raises questions over Britain's continued commercial relationships with the firms identified in Al Jazeera's investigation, observers stated. 'UK administration is propping up apartheid'.

Humphreys believes that Britain may additionally be failing to meet its legal obligations by "failing to launch its own investigation into their activities, with a view to preventing them if necessary".

In practice, the UK has additionally cautioned businesses against bidding for construction tenders in illegal settlements.

"Businesses should not consider bidding for construction tenders, " a administration statement issued this month stated, warning of "legal and reputational consequences" and the risk of involvement in "serious breaches of international law".

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn remarked Al Jazeera's findings expose a contradiction between the UK's stated position and its economic ties.

"Quite simply, the UK government is propping up apartheid, " Corbyn informed Al Jazeera. "Every day, the UK deepens its complicity in Israel's economy of occupation and, in turn, Israel's economy of genocide."

Notably, the Cabinet Office informed Al Jazeera that individual public authorities produce decisions to exclude suppliers case-by-case for each contract. It remarked public procurement in the UK should not be employed to boycott suppliers linked to other countries unless formal UK sanctions, embargoes or restrictions are in place.

Here's what we discovered concerning some of the firms involved in settlement trade. Motorola Solutions: Tech embedded in illegal settlements.

Meanwhile, the UN identifies Motorola in connection with two settlement-related activities: the "supply of security services, equipment and materials to enterprises operating in settlements" and the "provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements, including transport".

Al Jazeera contacted the Motorola Solutions group for comment but received no response.

It is the largest beneficiary of UK public funds that we investigated.

Motorola's subsidiaries are entrusted with providing communications equipment to the emergency services in the UK. The largest contract identified by Al Jazeera is held by Airwave Solutions, a Motorola subsidiary. The Home Office awarded Airwave an extension worth 1.562 billion pounds ($2.13bn) to provide the secure communications network applied by police, fire and ambulance services throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Motorola Solutions UK separately holds contracts worth 123.9 million pounds ($170m), including a 36.5-million-pound ($49.8m) Ministry of Defence contract for Airwave radios, accessories and airtime.

Five firms now ultimately controlled by Motorola Solutions Inc – Airwave Solutions Ltd, Motorola Solutions UK Ltd, CRFS Ltd, 3TC Software Ltd and Noggin IT Ltd – hold 91 active UK public-sector contracts worth 1.726 billion pounds ($2.3bn), according to the latest Tussell data.

Motorola Solutions Inc and its Israeli subsidiary, Motorola Solutions Israel Ltd, were included when the UN Human Rights Office first published its database of businesses involved in specified settlement-related activities in 2020. Both remain in its latest version.

Official records provide a glimpse of how the company's technology has been embedded in settlements.

Tenders from Mateh Binyamin Regional Council and the municipal corporation of Ariel, both illegal settlements, show Motorola command-and-control technology being applied in security and surveillance infrastructure.

Motorola equipment has additionally been purchased by the Israeli Civil Administration, the military body through which Israel administers civilian affairs in the occupied West Bank.

Motorola's relationship with the Israeli authorities continues today. An Israeli administration procurement document obtained by Al Jazeera indicates Motorola Solutions Israel was awarded a 25.5-million-shekel ($8.7m) contract in May 2026 to maintain approximately 19, 000 police radios and provide encryption licences until April 2028. Heidelberg Materials: A controversial quarry on occupied land.

In practice, the UN has listed Heidelberg Materials over the commercial employ of natural resources in occupied Palestinian territory.

In Britain, five Heidelberg Materials firms hold 25 public-sector contracts worth 184.79 million pounds ($252m). Almost all of that – 179.03 million pounds ($244m) – is held by Hanson Quarry Products Europe Ltd. Its contracts include 60 million pounds ($81.9m) from Westmorland and Furness Council for road surfacing and highway works between 2024 and 2027, and a 50-million-pound ($68.3m) surfacing maintenance contract with Somerset Council.

Its Israeli subsidiary, Hanson Israel, owns the Nahal Raba quarry, south of Qalqilya in the West Bank. The quarry sits on land belonging to the Palestinian villages of az-Zawiya and Rafat, according to Who Profits.

Notably, an official Civil Administration planning notice reviewed by Al Jazeera demonstrates a proposal was approved to expand the site.

Heidelberg informed Al Jazeera that in 2023, Hanson Israel "ceased all activities at the Nahal Raba quarry and the associated asphalt plant and ready-mix concrete plant", adding that only security personnel are present on site. Egis: Selling transport infrastructure that supports settlements.

French engineering group Egis provides another type of connection via transport infrastructure linking illegal Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem with the rest of the city.

Notably, the UN lists Egis in connection with the "provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements, including transport".

Egis's own material demonstrates that its involvement in Jerusalem's expanding light-rail network continues today, with the business website advertising a job for an engineering expert based in Jerusalem on its light-rail projects.

Jerusalem Transportation Master Plan procurement documents from 2017 additionally identify Egis Rail as its general consultant, responsible for supervising and coordinating planning and design work on the Blue and Green lines.

For now, UK has billions in contracts with firms tied to illegal Israeli settlements remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.