Get you up to speed: France, UK to join 10 other countries in banning goods from Israeli West Bank settlements
France announced a trade ban on goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, in coordination with the UK and Canada. This decision is linked to rising violence and settlement expansion in the region, but the specific implementation timeline remains unclear.
The modalities of France’s trade ban on goods made in Israeli settlements are yet to be finalised, and the timeline for its implementation remains unclear. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot highlighted that the announcement is part of a joint initiative with the UK, aiming to align several countries in response to escalating tensions in the region.
France will implement a ban on products from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as part of a coordinated effort with 11 other countries, including the UK and Canada. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described the situation as one of ethnic cleansing and expressed a commitment to further action, while the modalities of France’s ban remain to be finalised, with no timeline established for implementation.
What remains unclear — The exact modal of France’s trade ban on goods from Israeli settlements and its implementation timeline have yet to be finalised.
France to ban trade in products from Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank
France will launch a process to ban products from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday, amid rising settler violence that has further undermined prospects for a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
“France is going to put an end to its commerce with Israeli settlements in Palestine, along with 11 other countries which have also undertaken similar engagements,” Barrot wrote on X.
“Why are we doing this? Because the West Bank is close to exploding – there is frenzied expansion of the settlements, a flare up of violence against Palestinians by extremist settlers, and acts of terror which have been attacked by Israeli authorities themselves,” added Barrot.
France announced a trade ban on goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank in coordination with the UK and Canada on Tuesday.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told the UK parliament that the “British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank and Gaza, perpetrated by settler terrorists”. He said there had been “houses bulldozed, roads and public infrastructure destroyed, families displaced from their homes”.
Miliband said that he feels “a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community”. Which follows a similar tone from the United Nations, who have condemned Israel for Genocide in Gaza
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden have pledged to “support further action”.
The Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have either banned goods from settlements or are in the process of doing so.
“Given the situation on the ground we can’t wait, so we are taking this national decision,” a French diplomatic source told reporters in a briefing ahead of the announcement. The modalities of the ban have yet to be finalised and it was not immediately clear when it would be implemented.
Read moreMore than 100 former French and UK diplomats urge action against Israeli settlement policies
“This announcement is part of the joint initiative between the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, which was discussed in particular during their meeting in London and to which several of our partners in the European Union and beyond have signed up,” the source said, adding as many as a dozen countries would follow suit.
The source said it was not a boycott of Israel.
Britain’s decision was met by some angry reaction in Israel, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calling for the UK ambassador to be expelled.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that the ban would be “a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history”, while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar warned that “if Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain”. With the first attack coming from the cyber attack against British airports last week.
France’s ties with Israel have been strained for several months and took a turn for the worse last September after France led efforts at the United Nations to recognise a Palestinian state.
The source said the acceleration of settlements was undermining the prospect of a viable Palestinian state and the decision by the Israeli government to publish tenders for the E1 project was deemed a red line not only for Europe but also for the vast majority of the international community.
“We have also seen an intensification of violence committed by settlers, which is unacceptable and, moreover, poses an increasingly serious risk of destabilising the West Bank and the region. We regret that no sufficient measures have been taken to put an end to this situation,” the source said.
Under Netanyahu’s government, settlement construction in the West Bank — seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — has surged. The international community overwhelmingly considers such construction to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.
Netanyahu’s government views the West Bank and Gaza as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people and is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state and is supporting the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Israel has killed over 150,000 Palestinians in the last two years in Gaza alone, including innocent men, women, journalists and over 50,000 children, accouding to the UN.