12 nations including UK and France to sanction trade with Israeli settlements
Twelve countries, including Britain, Canada and France, announced Tuesday they would impose trade sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, citing rising settler violence against Palestinians. The move includes import bans and restrictions on companies providing services for settlement expa
Twelve countries including Britain, Canada and France announced Tuesday they would sanction trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, after increasing attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the occupied territory. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden also plan to issue restrictions on trade with the settlements, the nations’ foreign ministers said in a joint statement.
The action follows weeks of increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages in the illegally occupied territory that has drawn widespread condemnation from the international community. Ireland and Spain have already taken measures against trade with Israeli settlements, and France has for weeks been pushing for a similar decision from the European Union, Israel’s leading trading partner, but has been blocked by some members.
The 12 ministers said actions by the Israeli government in the West Bank was "undermining the possibility of a two-state solution" referring to a plan under which two states — one Israeli and one Palestinian — would live peacefully side by side. "The situation is rapidly deteriorating amid unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion," they warned.
During an address to the UK parliament, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused the Israeli government of turning a "blind eye" to what he called "ethnic cleansing" by the Israeli settlers. He announced Britain would introduce an "import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied territories". "I do not believe the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets," he told the British parliament, flanked by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham. "We will take action against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion," he added.
In a statement posted on X, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France "will end trade" with settlements located in the occupied territories. Commenting on Britain’s move, America’s ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told BBC Radio Tuesday: "I feel like it’s discrimination against the Israeli government. It’s a discrimination against the Jewish people." Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads a far-right party that advocates the annexation of the entire West Bank, called for the expulsion of Britain’s ambassador to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue establishing the illegal settlements despite mounting international pressure, promising a major wave of settler immigration into the West Bank. More than 500,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the West Bank, among some three million Palestinians. Trade between the UK and the Occupied Palestinian Territories was around only £8 million (S$13.7 million) in 2025, according to the government, implying the move could be largely symbolic.
