EU Ministers to Discuss Restrictions on Trade with Israeli Settlements
BRUSSELS — European Union foreign ministers will on Monday explore whether there is enough support for new measures to curb trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to diplomats and officials.
The discussion will be based on a confidential European Commission paper that floats three 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 divisions among its 27 member countries, particularly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, pressure from member governments to act on settlements has grown in recent months due to increasing settler violence and frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 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 West Bank. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating that Israel’s occupation and settlements in the West Bank are illegal, and that states should take steps to prevent trade or investment that helps maintain the situation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar last year described the push by some European governments to implement the advisory opinion as “shameful.”
Diplomats said they do not expect a formal decision on any particular measure on Monday. Divisions also extend to how any decision could be taken. Some diplomats say banning trade with settlements would require a qualified majority at least 15 EU states representing 65 percent of the bloc’s population. However, the Commission’s paper suggests it believes a ban could require unanimous support, a bar that would make a decision highly unlikely.
UN bodies and most countries view Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal. Israel rejects this, viewing the territory as disputed and citing historical Jewish presence.
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