EU to weigh options to curb trade with illegal Israeli settlements

European Union foreign ministers will on Monday explore whether there is enough support for new measures to curb trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to diplomats and officials.

The discussion will be based on a confidential paper by the European Commission that floats three different options, an import licensing system, prohibitive tariffs or a ban, a senior EU diplomat and a European official said.

The EU has long struggled to take major decisions on Middle East policy because of deep and longstanding divisions among its 27 member countries, particularly on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

But pressure from member governments to take action on illegal settlements has grown in recent months because of increasing violence by illegal settlers and frustration with Israeli Prime Minister ​Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, which has expanded settlements.

In May, the EU imposed sanctions on four entities and three individuals over what it described as serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

In a July 2024 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice said Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements in the West Bank are illegal and that states should take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that help maintain the situation.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar last year described a push by some European governments to implement the advisory opinion as “shameful”.