Rosebank Oil Field Approval Could Conflict with UK Sanctions on West Bank Settlements, Campaigners Warn

Campaigners and political figures have written to the prime minister and the foreign secretary expressing alarm that giving the go-ahead to Britain's largest untapped oil field could put the government at odds with its own sanctions targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The warnings centre on Rosebank, a major North Sea development located off the coast of Shetland, which has been awaiting a final decision from ministers for an extended period.Environmental groups and Green Party leader Zack Polanski have separately contacted Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to highlight concerns about the project's connection to Delek Group, an Israeli company.

Delek Group appeared last year in a United Nations database listing businesses allegedly providing services or utilities in support of settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.A representative for the company told the Daily Telegraph that it has ended all involvement in Israeli settlements and that its inclusion in the database was a mistake.

Through its control of Ithaca Energy, Delek Group holds a 20% share in the Rosebank project, a stake that campaigners argue creates a direct link between the oil field and the settlements they say the UK has committed to opposing.

The advocacy group Uplift, which brought a legal challenge against Rosebank in 2023 that resulted in the current delay, helped coordinate a letter to Burnham and Miliband.In the correspondence, which BBC News has seen, activists from Stop Rosebank and Greenpeace, with backing from Uplift, ask the government to state clearly whether Delek would be covered by sanctions announced the previous month.

Polanski sent a separate letter to Miliband requesting information on what measures the government would introduce to prevent revenue generated by UK oil and gas production from funding illegal settlements.He described Rosebank as a measure of whether Labour's proposed sanctions framework can actually deliver on its aims.

The Green Party leader argued that companies placed on a UN blacklist for operating in illegal settlements should not be bankrolled by profits from North Sea oil and gas.In their letter to Burnham, Uplift pressed for an unambiguous answer on whether Delek would be subject to the new planned measures.

They went further, asking that if the company would not be caught by the sanctions, the government should explain how that outcome could be reconciled with its stated goal of penalising those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements.

Ithaca Energy responded to the concerns by emphasising its corporate standing and its contributions to the UK.A spokesperson said the company is listed on the London Stock Exchange, is a member of the FTSE 100 and operates under the highest standards of corporate governance.

The spokesperson added that Ithaca is among the largest investors in the North Sea and Scotland, acts as a responsible employer and makes a significant contribution to both the Treasury through tax payments and to national energy security.

Delek Group also rejected the basis for its inclusion in the UN list.A spokesman told the Telegraph that the company had been wrongly added to the database and that, working with its legal advisers, it planned to formally contest the listing and seek its immediate removal.

The timing of the Rosebank decision has made it politically charged, with the Jackdaw gas field east of Aberdeen also awaiting clarity.Rosebank previously received approval from the Conservative government in 2023, but that consent was overturned in the courts following a challenge from campaigners including Uplift.

Responsibility for the final call now rests with Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, though observers expect the outcome to reveal much about Burnham's broader approach to oil and gas.Miliband was widely believed to have opposed Rosebank during his time as Sir Keir Starmer's energy secretary.

Burnham, by contrast, has frequently spoken about the need for a "flexible" energy policy and is thought to favour additional drilling in areas of the North Sea where licences already exist.The decision also carries potential consequences for UK relations with the United States.

President Trump has repeatedly pressed successive British prime ministers to expand North Sea drilling.While Downing Street is said to be relieved that Trump has not responded aggressively to the government's recent West Bank sanctions, his administration has indicated the US will not adopt a similar approach.

Miliband signalled a toughening of the UK's stance last month when he set out action against companies and individuals supplying services such as infrastructure for settlement expansion.The measures will additionally prohibit imports of goods originating from illegal settlements.

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said that "not one penny of North Sea oil profits" should be directed to a company that "itself now risks being sanctioned by the UK".The Foreign Office declined to provide comment on the matter.

The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of a long-standing and deeply contentious situation in the Middle East.Israel has established approximately 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since occupying the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war, with an estimated 3.3 million Palestinians living alongside them.

Settlements are considered illegal under international law, and recent months have seen an increase in violence by settlers against Palestinians.Israel has condemned the UK sanctions, characterising them as part of "anti-Israel policies".