September 2026 Actions Bulletin

A Small but Significant Step

After decades of campaigning about what is happening in Palestine, governments are finally taking some action rather than just issuing words of condemnation about Israel’s many violations. Those in authority have tried to silence us, hoping we would just go away, but because of our persistence, the government has realised that to maintain electoral support, it must hear the calls from civil society.

As the UK, along with Canada, France and another nine countries have announced plans to ban trade with Israel’s illegal settlements, the first small step has begun. Do congratulate the parliamentarians and other people of influence, including from the Jewish community, who have endorsed the ban and encourage them to remain firm. We have already seen the push-back from Zionists and it is likely to intensify. Israel has every intention of racing ahead with its ethnic cleansing and settlement expansion, including into E-1. Its settler colonial agenda means that it will never allow a Palestinian state to be established on the Green Line, and this is why ICAHD has long warned of the danger of two-state apartheid.

Included in this bulletin is the guidance released by Amnesty International on the details required for a meaningful ban on all aspects of trade with settlements. It is also something that your political representative should receive. Many additional steps are required as Israel is brought to account for its war crimes. We encourage you to attend the ICAHD UK conference and learn more about the strategic steps to be taken to help encourage the domino effect for the fall of Zionism’s settler colonial agenda and to open the door for a genuine democracy within one state for all who live between the river and the sea.

ICAHD UK's Annual Conference

Date: Saturday, 17th October 2026 Time: 10:15am – 4:45pm (doors open 9:30am) Venue: Wesley Hotel and Conference Centre 81-103 Euston Street, London NW1 2EZ GB Tickets: Members & Students - £15, Non-members - £20 A drink provided on arrival, bring a packed lunch

Filmmaker Bruno Sorrentino has been added to the dynamic programme that is being prepared for our 2026 annual conference. The day begins as we examine what can be done to empower the Palestinians as Israel rapidly moves to the last stage of implementing its settler colonial and apartheid policies over them. We will learn about misrepresentation in public affairs and the media, and we will address how to respond to the criminalisation of those who demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians. Bruno will talk about the release of the new Atta Jaber feature film and plans for screenings.

During the conference our new website will be introduced and our range of resources will be available.

Spaces strictly limited

Jeff Halper's September Update

In Jeff Halper’s September update, he reflects on the history of the Palestinian people that has seen them time and again being marginalised without a patron or other institutional support to stand with them in their struggle to resist the Zionists who have sought Palestinian displacement and claimed their land. Jeff highlights three historic moments when the Palestinians were left on their own to fight their cause – around the time of the Balfour Declaration, during the Great Arab Revolt and then during the Oslo Peace Process. He contrasts this with the support that Israel has had from Britain, Arab nations and then the United States. Yet, despite the heavy cost, Palestinians have been able to keep their struggle alive.

Israel has believed that it could achieve its objectives using military might to overcome those it deems its enemies. However, with what has unfolded with Iran, this has backfired on Israel. The Gulf states are withdrawing their support for the Abraham Accords because Israel’s military actions have destabilised the Middle East. Instead, they are turning to China and the STEP project that involves Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan, thus isolating Israel. There can be no normalisation between Israel and the Arab States without resolving the Palestinian issue and this time round, internationals can play a role so that the Palestinians no longer feel marginalised. Jeff presents some ideas

Stay connected to Palestinian partners on the ground whom you already know so they do not feel marginalised. Widen your circle of Palestinian contacts to include voices of those who are not currently being heard. Facilitate strategic links between professional organisations, i.e. Palestinian farmers with farmers unions from different countries. Provide safe spaces where Palestinians, now so fragmented from one another, can gather to get to meet and dialogue about what they want.

Jeff ends by asking that we campaign to get a UN Protection Force put into place as soon as possible.

August's Demolition & Displacement Report

The photo featured in this month’s bulletin was taken on 31st August 2026 when the Israeli Civil Administration accompanied by Israeli forces arrived with bulldozers to demolish 12 structures in Area C of Birzeit, Ramallah, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits. The demolished structures included three residential buildings: an old house built in the early 1990s with three additional floors added in 1998 that remained under construction; a three-storey under-construction residential building; and a two-storey guest house used by farmers when they arrived to work with the family on the land.

In addition, seven greenhouses, an animal shelter, and a solar panel system were demolished. The agricultural structures were the main source of income for the owner and several farmers working in the Ein al Saqi area, north of Bir Zeit. The farmers and property owners have been unable to access the area since March 2026 due to repeated settler attacks on their property, which resulted in extensive damage to the cultivated crops and agricultural equipment and injuries. In addition, the family managing the business, who had been living in the old house, were unable to return after temporarily leaving it due to continued settler attacks and the closure of the main entrance to the area by an earth mound erected by Israeli forces. According to the family, they had received a stop-work order in 2002 and appointed a lawyer to follow up on the case and obtain a building permit. Despite these legal efforts, and despite the family having stopped construction, the demolition was carried out without the family receiving a demolition order.

My Weekend with ICAHD UK

The weekend at the Greenbelt Festival at the end of August was very special and one of a couple of firsts for me.

A first to be volunteering with ICAHD UK at a key profile-raising event, and a first to stay all weekend at Greenbelt, camping in the very muddy conditions that were quite a feature of this year’s festival. It was great fun with fabulous people! I caught up with several folks that I had not seen for years, heard terrific speakers addressing critical issues, went to some good gigs and danced into the early hours on Friday and Saturday night with a friend who lives at the opposite end of the country to me.

As I look back on this time, I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to be there with ICAHD UK and their very special team. Of all the above experiences, ICAHD stood out as the highlight and my core reason for going. As I reflect on the weekend, I find that being at Greenbelt has impacted me on many levels.

A Rupture in Israeli Security Politics: Can the Palestinians Exploit It?

“President Trump and I often say: peace through strength – first comes strength then comes peace.” – PM Benjamin Netanyahu, 22/06/2025

Jeff Halper’s recently published article in Counterpunch examines this strategy and how it is failing to achieve its objectives in the wider Middle East. He writes that from the Israeli vantage point, the logic of normalization through strength appeared internally coherent. Israel sought to demonstrate resolve, eliminate threats, and position itself as a pillar of a new regional security architecture. Yet this logic underestimated how Israeli actions were perceived beyond its borders – particularly in Saudi Arabia and other moderate Sunni Arab states such as Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE, whose overriding concern is regime stability and regional predictability.

National March for Palestine

You are warmly invited to march with ICAHD UK when once again we take to the streets of London to express our solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation. Such actions must continue because the ethnic cleansing, apartheid and genocidal policies are ongoing. Look out for news about our assembly point within the Jewish bloc that will be posted to the ICAHD website. We are usually informed of the location a couple of days before the date of the march.

Ban All Trade with Israel

Amnesty International UK has set out the tests any ban on settlement trade must pass and states that the strength of this policy will lie in its scope and implementation. A ban on settlement goods is not the end of the road but an essential step towards meaningful compliance with the UK's obligations under international law.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation is illegal. Therefore, the UK government has a legal obligation to call Israel to account and to make sure that the Geneva Conventions are enforced. This means ending its complicity in Israel’s unlawful occupation in all parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Study this guidance to understand what a comprehensive and enforceable ban must look like in practice.

Dates for Your Diary

Saturday, 10th October – National March for Palestine – noon, central London. Commemorating three years since 7th October.

Saturday, 17th October – ICAHD UK Annual Conference, The Wesley Hotel, London.

Monday, 17th - Thursday, 27th May 2027 – ICAHD Study Tour.