The prime minister faces mounting pressure after campaigners warned that green-lighting the Rosebank oil field could violate the government’s own sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
A Field at the Centre of a Geopolitical Storm
Rosebank, Britain’s largest untapped oil deposit, sits off the coast of Shetland and has become one of the most politically charged energy decisions of the current parliament. The government must soon rule on whether to proceed with exploration, a choice that carries implications far beyond domestic energy policy.
The previous Conservative administration approved the project in 2023, but that decision was overturned in the courts following a legal challenge by campaigners including the group Uplift. The matter now rests with Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, though it is widely regarded as a litmus test of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s broader approach to oil and gas.
Delek Group’s Settlement Links
At the heart of the controversy is Delek Group, an Israeli company that controls Ithaca Energy, which holds a 20% stake in Rosebank. Last year, Delek was placed on a UN database of firms alleged to provide services supporting settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
Ithaca Energy, a London Stock Exchange-listed FTSE 100 company, insists it operates to the highest standards of corporate governance and is a major contributor to UK energy security and Treasury revenues through taxation. A spokesperson told the BBC the firm is “one of the biggest investors in the North Sea and Scotland” and a responsible employer.
Delek Group has denied the allegations, stating it no longer has any involvement in Israeli settlements and was wrongly included in the database. The company says it intends to formally challenge the listing and seek immediate removal.
Campaigners Demand Clarity
Environmental groups and Green Party leader Zack Polanski have separately written to Home Secretary Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, asking the government to clarify whether Delek will fall foul of the sanctions announced last month.
In a letter seen by BBC News, campaigners from Stop Rosebank and Greenpeace, assisted by Uplift, asked Burnham and Miliband to “confirm, unequivocally, whether Delek will be caught by the new planned measures.” They added a pointed follow-up: if the company is not caught, how is that consistent with the government’s stated intent to sanction those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements?
Polanski wrote directly to Miliband, asking what steps the government would take to ensure revenue from UK oil and gas production does not finance illegal settlements. “Rosebank is a test of whether Labour’s proposed sanctions regime is fit for purpose,” he said. “Companies blacklisted by the UN for operating in the illegal settlements should not be financed by oil and gas revenues from the North Sea.”
Tessa Khan, executive director at Uplift, went further, declaring that “not one penny of North Sea oil profits” should go to a company that “itself now risks being sanctioned by the UK.”
Political Crosscurrents
The Rosebank decision has become entangled in wider diplomatic tensions. President Trump has placed pressure on successive UK prime ministers to increase drilling in the North Sea, and while Downing Street is relieved that Trump has not reacted angrily to the West Bank sanctions, his administration has indicated it will not follow the same course.
Miliband was widely believed to have opposed Rosebank during his earlier tenure as energy secretary under Starmer. Burnham, by contrast, has repeatedly called for a “flexible” approach to energy and is understood to favour drilling where existing licenses cover the North Sea.
Israel has criticised the UK sanctions, accusing the government of pursuing “anti-Israel policies.” The Foreign Office declined to comment on the Rosebank correspondence.
Why it Matters
The Rosebank question sits at the intersection of energy policy, international law, and diplomatic relations, forcing the UK to reconcile its climate commitments with its sanctions regime. With an estimated 3.3 million Palestinians living alongside roughly 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews in the occupied territories — settlements deemed illegal under international law — the government’s stance on companies linked to settlement activity will signal whether its sanctions are more than symbolic. The decision could shape the UK’s credibility on both the global stage and at home, where energy security and cost of living remain pressing concerns for voters.
