EU weighs trade penalties on Israeli settlements
Foreign ministers met in Brussels as pressure grows for EU action over West Bank settlements and settler violence against Palestinians.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday to consider trade penalties targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to Reuters. The talks could shape whether the bloc moves beyond criticism of settlement expansion and settler attacks toward economic measures.
Reuters reported that a senior EU diplomat said the European Commission prepared a paper laying out possible steps. Options under discussion include import licensing rules, steep tariffs or a ban on settlement goods, the diplomat said.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at the start of the meeting that member states had raised repeated demands for action on trade with settlements. She said the situation in the West Bank had become “really intolerable” and warned that developments there were making a two-state solution harder to achieve.
A diplomat, speaking anonymously to Reuters, said Monday’s session was expected to test where governments stood rather than produce an immediate decision. Diplomats told Reuters they did not expect ministers to approve a specific measure at the meeting.
EU split over how far to go
The debate comes amid rising pressure inside the EU over Israeli settlement policy and violence by settlers against Palestinians and Palestinian property, Reuters, AFP and DPA reported. Settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal under international law.
Spain, Ireland and Belgium have urged strong sanctions against Israel over settlement activity, according to the reporting agencies. Germany and Italy are among the countries that have not settled on whether to support such action.
The EU also faces a procedural dispute over what level of support would be needed. Some diplomats told Reuters that a trade ban on settlement products could pass with a qualified majority, meaning at least 15 member states representing 65 percent of the EU population.
But the Commission paper suggested such a ban might require unanimous backing from all 27 member states, Reuters reported. Diplomats said that would be a much higher threshold and would be difficult for the bloc to meet.
West Bank occupation under scrutiny
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live there, not including occupied East Jerusalem, alongside about three million Palestinians, according to the report.
The International Court of Justice said in a July 2024 advisory opinion that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and its West Bank settlements are illegal. The court also said states should act to prevent trade or investment ties that help sustain that situation.
Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain have already put their own trade restrictions on Israeli settlements in place, according to Reuters, AFP and DPA.
Israel rejects the view that the territory is illegally occupied, according to the reporting agencies. It describes the West Bank as disputed territory and says Jewish presence in the area goes back thousands of years.
Kallas said ministers would see whether the options outlined by the Commission draw stronger support from member states. For now, the Brussels talks mark an effort to measure whether the EU can turn legal and political objections to settlement activity into bloc-wide policy.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.