It is probably the first time that building and construction has been used on this scale as a weapon of war. There are now over 600,000 Israeli settlers colonising Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It is the stated and avowed intention of the settlers to build Palestine out of existence. They want to colonise “Judea and Samaria,” as they continuously describe Palestine.

The process is a systematic one. First, the land is occupied, settled and then stolen. Israel is not on a path to peace — it is colonising Palestine.

Under the Geneva Convention (Article 49) “the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own population into the territories it occupies.” Yet this is precisely what Israel is being allowed to do by the rest of the world.

At a recent press conference the Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon said: “We built in the past. We’re building in the present. We will build in the future.” But he went onto say that in the interest of maintaining international support, “it’s best not to talk about it at the moment.”

As a consequence of the military occupation, Palestinians are now one of the most policed people on Earth. As Israeli journalist Amira Hass pointed out: “Palestinians are fighting for their lives. Israel is fighting for the occupation.”

In the last month alone there have been at the time of writing at least seven Israelis and 29 Palestinians killed in the West Bank and Gaza and over 1,100 injuries. There have been hundreds of gunfire attacks, raids and detentions — with nearly 200 recorded incidents of settler violence.

J-Street describes itself as the “political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans.” Not traditionally Palestine’s greatest friends and allies. Yet J-Street’s Alan Elsner has said this week that the attacks “are an expression of deep rage and frustration stemming from a feeling within the Palestinian population of hopelessness and powerlessness in the face of a nearly half-century Israeli occupation. It is almost as if Palestinians are sending Israelis a message: If we are suffering, we want to make sure that you suffer too. If we are miserable, you too will be miserable. If there is no peace for us, neither will there be peace for you.”

Elsner went on to say that an Israeli government that has offered the Palestinians no prospect of ending the conflict through a two-state solution and a prime minister who has vowed never to allow a Palestinian state to be created on his watch are now reaping the fruits of that policy.

An Israeli government that has continued to relentlessly expand and widen its settlements in the occupied West Bank is now realising that there is a price to pay for its actions.

Governments, including our own, have issued endless condemnations of Israel’s settlement building, and even of the violent and lethal settler attacks — yet no action has been taken to protect Palestinian lives and end Israel’s violations of international law.

In Europe the excuse is the lack of consensus, in the US it is the Israel lobby — in Britain the focus is to attack the supporters of Palestine.

The recent government announcement that it is going to change the rules for local councils to prevent them divesting from Israeli companies is symptomatic of the approach.

Rather than use sanctions and international pressure to make Israel comply with international law the government attacks those who use non-violent methods of protest to support Palestine. The government’s own website describes the settlements as illegal. Yet it is trying to tell councils they cannot divest from companies complicit with the occupation — companies such as Hewlett Packard and G4S.

Rightly there are European and global measures to try to ensure that money is not passed onto criminal or terrorist organisations. Surely, by the same principles, rather than banning local authorities from scrutinising their investments to ensure they comply with international law, they should be encouraging them.

Instead we give Israel the green light to continue with its expansionist policies. In trying to block the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement the government is not only denying us free speech and the right to protest, it is actively condoning the actions of the Israeli government.

It says — in reality — that it is fine to buy and sell arms knowing they will be used against civilians in the occupation. It is fine for banks and financial institutions to provide money and resources that fund the settlements. It is perfectly acceptable to invest in companies that operate to support the military occupation and colonisation of Palestine.

That is why today people in Britain and across the world are protesting at Israel’s violent and brutal occupation. There is an urgent need to end the hypocrisy and hand-wringing from the British government.

Israel’s occupation has to end.

It is the only way to end the violence. The failure to speak out when Israel is committing war crimes, such as in Gaza last summer, just encourages Israel to continue to see just how far the world will let them go.

Seemingly there are no limits — exemplified most recently by the silence effectively condoning the Israeli policy of allowing its military to shoot into Palestinian demonstrations with live ammunition — extrajudicial executions of Palestinian men, women and children.

Now is the time for sanctions and an end to the arms trade. No more talk, no more settlements.

• Hugh Lanning is chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.