Norway proposes jail time for trading with ‘Israeli’ settlements

• If the law passes, violators face up to 3 years in prison.

Norway is advancing legislation that would make it a criminal offense to trade with businesses operating in ‘Israeli’ settlements in the occupied West Bank, with violators facing prison sentences of up to three years. 

Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has said he expects the bill to pass this fall, with the public consultation period on the proposal closing Sep. 19. 

Eide framed the push for the legislation as a response to worsening conditions on the ground rather than a symbolic gesture. 

Speaking to Norway's public broadcaster NRK, he argued that the case for action has only grown stronger as conditions in the West Bank have deteriorated, and pointed to the fact that a growing number of governments are moving in the same direction as Norway's own proposal.

"The arguments have only become stronger because the situation in the West Bank has become even worse."

Eide also suggested that ‘Israel's’ ability to deflect criticism by branding it antisemitic has worn thin among Western governments, telling NRK that whatever protective advantage ‘Israel’ once had in this respect has largely disappeared.

Part of a wider European shift

Norway's bill follows a major policy shift in the United Kingdom, which last week announced it would bar imports of goods produced in ‘Israeli’ settlements in the West Bank, a move described as London's most consequential ‘Israel’-related policy decision since it formally recognized Palestinian statehood the previous year.

Read more: Trump did not oppose UK sanctions on ‘Israeli’ settlements, says report