UK oil dividend to Israeli-linked Delek sparks sanctions debate over settlement ties

Ithaca Energy, an Aberdeen-based operator with interests in the majority of the UK’s biggest North Sea oil and gas fields, paid almost £100 million in dividends to Delek Group on September 24. Delek, which controls over 50% of Ithaca, has been listed since 2020 by the UN Human Rights Office as a company linked to Israeli settlements, a label the group denies and is challenging legally. The dividend follows the UK government’s September 8 announcement of sanctions on goods produced in the occupied West Bank and on companies providing services for settlement expansion, as articulated by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.

Campaigners, including Amnesty International and the Scottish Greens, argue that allowing Delek to benefit from UK oil projects, notably the Rosebank field, would breach Britain’s climate and human-rights commitments. Environmental NGOs have already contested the Rosebank approval in Scottish courts, and they now seek clarification from the prime minister on how the new sanctions will affect Delek’s involvement. Delek’s spokesperson maintains the company has no operations in settlements and will contest its inclusion on the UN list.