France, the United Kingdom, Canada and nine other countries, including European states, are preparing to restrict trade with Israeli settlements established in the occupied Palestinian territories. The measures under consideration would introduce prison sentences for importing, purchasing and selling settlement products, as well as for engaging in commercial transactions with them.
Different penalties proposed in three countries
Norway is preparing a legal framework to enable a boycott of settlement products. The draft legislation provides for prison sentences of up to three years for individuals and companies that conduct transactions involving these products.
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Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said he expected parliament to approve the bill in its current form. Eide said worsening conditions in the occupied West Bank strengthened the rationale for the legislation and added that other countries would take similar steps.
In the Netherlands, legislation banning the import, purchase or sale of products from settlements in the occupied territories is expected to enter into force on September 22. The measure provides for prison sentences of up to six years.
In the United Kingdom, commercial ties with settlements could carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Twelve countries call on Israel to act
France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden announced in a joint statement that they intend to restrict trade with Israeli settlements.
The statement called on Israel to immediately halt the expansion of settlements and settler violence. It said the measures aim to preserve the two-state solution, reject the annexation of Palestinian territories and forced displacement, and ensure accountability for those responsible for violence.
The joint statement came after Israel opened a tender for the construction of approximately 1,200 settlement units in the E1 area, which is said to have the potential to affect the territorial continuity between the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Statements from France and the Palestinian side
France's Foreign Ministry said it supports implementing a ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories at the European Union level. Amnesty International described the decision by the 12 countries to ban trade as necessary but overdue.
Mohammad Shtayyeh, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, described the statement by the 12 countries as an important step. Shtayyeh said boycotting products from illegal settlements alone would not be enough and that measures should also be taken against the settlement project and the state supporting it.
Dispute over the origin of products
Some settlement products manufactured in Israel have previously been presented as originating within Israel's 1948 borders in order to circumvent similar bans in Europe.
The joint statement was described in an Israeli newspaper as a diplomatic setback and a major failure for the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli government maintains that, since its formation at the end of 2022, it has approved the establishment of 104 new settlements and 160 agricultural settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank.
The United Nations defines the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as occupied Palestinian territory and considers Israeli settlements in the area contrary to international law. Palestinians say the expansion of settlements and attacks by the army and settlers are laying the groundwork for the annexation of the West Bank and weakening the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state.
