The United Kingdom has awarded 10.7 million pounds ($14.4 million) in new public contracts to companies linked to illegal Israeli settlements, despite government pledges to take action against businesses profiting from settlement activities, an Al Jazeera investigation has revealed.

The findings come as Israel continues its genocide in Gaza and deepens its occupation of Palestinian territory, while companies identified by the United Nations for their involvement in settlement-related activities continue to secure lucrative government contracts abroad.

An analysis of procurement records, corporate filings and contract data supplied by British public-sector market intelligence firm Tussell found that businesses named by the UN, as well as their subsidiaries, had obtained contracts across Britain's public sector.

The contracts were published after September 8, when British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced new powers to sanction companies and individuals involved in settlement expansion through construction, infrastructure, financing and real estate.

However, since that announcement, British public authorities have disclosed 18 additional contracts involving companies linked to illegal Israeli settlements.

Neve Gordon, a professor at Queen Mary University of London, told Al Jazeera that the companies “appear to be in breach of their legal obligations under international humanitarian law”.

“Any UK company that is involved in the occupation is likely to be in direct breach of the sanctions regime Ed Miliband is putting in place,” he said.

Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn condemned the government's contradictory approach, saying: “Britain cannot credibly claim that it is imposing sanctions on Israeli settlements while letting contracts continue through the back door.”

He added that the continued use of public money to finance companies potentially subject to the government's own sanctions was “outrageous and frankly insulting to the public”.

Among the companies identified is Germany-based Heidelberg Materials, whose subsidiaries secured 14 contracts worth 10.4 million pounds, primarily for road construction and resurfacing projects.

The UN has listed the company over its commercial use of natural resources in occupied Palestinian territory. Its Israeli subsidiary, Hanson Israel, owns the Nahal Raba quarry near Qalqilya, on land belonging to Palestinian villages.

Although Heidelberg previously said operations at the quarry had ceased in 2023, the research group Who Profits reported that approval for its expansion was granted on May 28, 2025.

Meanwhile, US-based Motorola Solutions and its subsidiaries have secured British public contracts worth approximately 1.7 billion pounds, largely through Airwave Solutions.

The UN has identified Motorola Solutions over its provision of security equipment and services linked to Israeli settlements. Procurement records also show that its command-and-control technology is used in security and surveillance infrastructure in the occupied West Bank.

The company's extensive involvement in Britain's police communications infrastructure further illustrates how corporations associated with Israel's occupation remain embedded in Western public institutions.

Other companies under scrutiny

Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, identified by the UN over the commercial exploitation of natural resources, has links to Israeli cosmetics manufacturer Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories. Its subsidiary Breas Medical secured a 98,000-pound contract with Hull hospitals.

French engineering group Egis, meanwhile, has been listed by the UN for providing transport services and infrastructure supporting Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem. Its subsidiary Thomas & Adamson International Limited secured another British public contract worth 84,000 pounds.

Despite the mounting evidence, the British Cabinet Office did not respond to Al Jazeera's latest request for comment.

The government has previously maintained that public authorities make procurement decisions individually and that suppliers should not be excluded without formal sanctions or restrictions.

The findings expose the contradictions in Western governments' declared commitment to international law: while the United States and its allies continue to shield Israel from meaningful accountability for the genocide in Gaza, public institutions and taxpayers' money remain connected to companies implicated in sustaining the occupation.

For Britain, the latest revelations raise serious questions about whether its promised sanctions against the Israeli settlement enterprise represent a genuine effort to enforce international law or merely political rhetoric that leaves the underlying economic relationships untouched.