“This is a seismic victory for the Palestinian solidarity movement in this country, which demands that the government, institutions and corporations end all economic, political and military support for the state of Israel.”
Ben Jamal, Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign
By the Palestine Solidarity Campaign
In a historic first, the Co-op Board has confirmed that the supermarket chain will stop sourcing products and services from Israel after an assessment of its human rights abuses and violations of international law. The decision follows overwhelming support for a motion at the Co-op AGM in May, which called on the Board to cease all trading with Israel in response to its genocide in Gaza and decades of oppression of Palestinian people.
Today (24 June), the Co-op has confirmed that Israel is one of 17 “countries of concern” from which it will stop sourcing on a phased approach starting immediately.
The decision by the Co-op Board follows a review based on developing a “sourcing policy aligned with established co-operative values, upholding human rights and the rule of law to promote fair trading and peace”. One of the criteria the Co-op policy is now based on is that “there is consistent behaviour which would constitute community-wide human rights abuses or violations of international law”. The Co-op believes its decision “can make a difference directly or indirectly to those affected and would alleviate suffering”. As a result, the Co-op will not use ingredients in Co-op branded products or sell whole products from Israel.
Israeli fruits and vegetables such as avocados, peppers, herbs and dates are stocked widely by supermarkets in the UK. But Israeli agricultural export companies, like Hadiklaim, Mehadrin and Edom, operate farms and packing houses in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed that all Israeli settlements are illegal, and the appropriation of Palestinian resources like water is a war crime. All states have an obligation not to render aid or assistance to Israel in these violations of international law.
In 2012, the Co-op committed not to source products from illegal Israeli settlements. PSC campaigners argued that this needed to be extended, because any trade with Israeli agricultural exporters supports their role as participants in Israel’s colonisation and military occupation of Palestinian land. Moreover, campaigners pointed out that these companies benefit from Israel’s systematic destruction of Palestinian agriculture through exploiting the Palestinian captive market, and contribute tax revenue to the Israeli state, which in turn helps it fund its genocide and apartheid against Palestinians.
Today’s announcement is a major victory for the BDS movement and PSC, which has been running a “Don’t Buy Apartheid” campaign this year urging individuals, shops, restaurants and venues to boycott Israeli fresh produce and all Coca-Cola brands in protest at their links with Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.
Ben Jamal, PSC Director, said:
“This is a seismic victory for the Palestinian solidarity movement in this country, which demands that the government, institutions and corporations end all economic, political and military support for the state of Israel, which is conducting a live streamed genocide in Gaza after decades of military occupation and imposing a system of apartheid on Palestinians.
The Co-op, as befits its history, has shown great moral courage and ethical principle in deciding that it cannot ignore voices from the British public calling out Israel’s gross human rights abuses and violations of international law – and even more importantly, it cannot economically support that regime through doing business in Israel. This beacon of leadership must now be taken up by all other supermarket chains which continue to sell Israeli goods, despite knowing they are supporting its war crimes.”
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- This article was originally published by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign on 24 June 2025.
