Twelve countries to ban trade with ‘Israeli’ settlements
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- The move comes amid heightened ‘Israeli’ settler violence against Palestinians.
Twelve countries announced on Tuesday that they intend to introduce national restrictions, or push for coordinated European measures, on trade in goods produced in ‘Israeli’ settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, citing a sharp rise in settler violence and continued settlement expansion that they say is pushing the West Bank toward crisis.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministries of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom confirmed their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements considered illegal under international law, or said they are actively considering such measures in line with their own national procedures.
UK
The United Kingdom paired the announcement with its own domestic package.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said Britain now views the occupation of the Palestinian territories as unlawful "as a whole," and that ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is under way in parts of the West Bank, including areas affected by settlement expansion and settler violence.
London's measures include a ban on imports from illegal settlements, a prohibition on advertising such settlements within Britain, and a refusal to approve new arms and export licenses that materially contribute to the occupation.
Miliband also said the UK would sanction additional extremist settlers, along with companies and individuals involved in financing, construction and real estate services tied to settlement expansion, and that legislation to speed up future sanctions would be in place within six to nine months.
France
France has been among the most vocal advocates of trade restrictions in recent months. Paris and Stockholm jointly proposed tighter EU tariffs and import controls on settlement goods earlier this year, invoking the International Court of Justice's 2024 advisory opinion, which found that states have an obligation to avoid economic dealings that entrench ‘Israel's’ unlawful presence in the occupied territories.
La France va mettre fin au commerce avec les colonies israéliennes situées dans les Territoires palestiniens occupés, avec onze autres pays qui ont pris des engagements du même ordre.
— Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot) September 8, 2026
Pourquoi ?
Parce que la Cisjordanie est au bord de l'explosion : expansion effrénée de la… pic.twitter.com/mJStC3HgOk
The reasoning France has offered echoes that opinion directly: continued colonization in violation of international law, a surge in settler violence against Palestinians, and a deteriorating situation that undermines security for all French officials have framed the restrictions not as hostility toward ‘Israel’ but as a defense of the two-state solution, which they describe as the only alternative to permanent conflict.
