The US will not restrict trade with Israeli settlers in the West Bank, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Rubio said the US would not follow the United Kingdom’s decision in this regard.
Rubio answered reporters’ questions in Miami, Florida, on Tuesday before departing for Colombia. Commenting on the decision by 12 countries to restrict trade with settlers in the West Bank, Rubio said, "We will clearly not do what the United Kingdom did."
The US secretary of state said Washington had no intention of taking a step against Israeli settlers similar to the United Kingdom’s measure. Rubio said they had seen the announcement by the 12 countries but would not comment on the issue at that time.
Concerns over escalation in the West Bank
Rubio also said they did not want violence, conflict or tensions to increase in the West Bank. Saying the region was going through a sensitive period, Rubio expressed concern about a possible escalation.
The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom announced in a joint statement issued under the heading of a two-state solution that they were restricting trade in goods with settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Palestinian data on settlements
Palestinian data show that 104 new settlements have been approved in the West Bank since the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu was formed in late 2022. During the same period, 160 agricultural settlement outposts were established.
The Palestinian government’s Commission Against the Wall and Settlements said settlers carried out 3,488 attacks in the West Bank during the first half of 2026. The commission said 17 Palestinians were killed in the attacks, 26 Bedouin and pastoral communities were fully or partially displaced, and 42 new settlement outposts were established.
About 750,000 Israeli settlers live in 194 settlements and 400 settlement outposts in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The legal status of the occupation and settlements
Settler attacks and Israeli army raids continue in the West Bank, while the war in the Gaza Strip has continued since October 2023. The West Bank and East Jerusalem have been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The international community considers Israeli settlements established in occupied territories contrary to international law. Israel rejects this assessment.
Historical disputes over the displacement of at least 750,000 Palestinians since the process that led to the establishment of Israel in 1948 also form part of the background to tensions in the region.
