EU countries seek proposal to ban trade with Israeli settlements

A majority of European Union countries called Monday for the bloc to prepare a proposal to ban imports of products from Israeli settlements, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Kallas said the option with the most support was a ban on trade with what she called illegal settlements. She said ambassadors had been tasked with taking the work forward and that ministers could reconvene an extraordinary meeting if needed.

Several EU countries, including Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain, have already imposed their own trade restrictions on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are considered illegal under international law.

The European Commission last week set out options to restrict trade with settlements, including a possible ban, after pressure for action at EU level. Kallas said the options were not directed against Israel as a whole, but against settlements that she said undermine the two-state solution. She described the situation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as intolerable.

Some countries have criticised the pace of the process. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said before the meeting that the options appeared to be more like a gesture than a real effort to move forward. He said Belgium wanted concrete proposals.

Even if the Commission makes a proposal, adoption is not certain. AFP reported disagreement in Brussels over whether a ban would need the support of all 27 EU member states or only a weighted majority.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live there, excluding east Jerusalem, among about three million Palestinians. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned what he called the relentless expansion of Israeli settlements in a report seen by AFP last month, saying they were contributing to the West Bank's worst displacement crisis since 1967.

The EU has long been divided over its approach to Israel, with some member states strongly backing Israel and others supporting the Palestinians.