Israeli settlements draw tougher trade restrictions

BRUSSELS/JERUSALEM — The foreign ministers of 12 countries moved on Tuesday to tighten restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as mounting settlement expansion and violence fuel growing concerns over the viability of a two-state solution.

Foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement that they intended to introduce national restrictions, support European measures, or were actively considering other steps in line with their national procedures.

The ministers said the situation in the West Bank was "rapidly deteriorating" amid what they described as unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion.

Among the 12 countries, the UK, France and Canada said they would bring forward national measures to ban trade in settlement goods, while welcoming steps already taken by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said on Tuesday that the UK would introduce a ban on imports of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

It would also establish a new sanctions policy targeting specific companies and individuals providing construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate services that contribute to settlement expansion, he said.

Miliband announced a shift in Britain's legal position, saying the British government now considers Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories unlawful.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday criticized the UK's planned move, calling sanctions a "grave miscalculation".

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also announced retaliatory measures, saying the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem — Britain's main diplomatic mission to the Palestinians — would be shut down.

Miliband said on Wednesday that he regretted Israel's decision to order the consulate to close, but said it was not a surprise.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France would "end trade" with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, adding that France could not, through its trade, support a situation that threatened Israelis, Palestinians and regional stability. He also urged Europe to adopt the same approach.

Some other European countries have already been moving in a similar direction.

Spain has prohibited imports of settlement goods. Belgium has decided to introduce an import ban and in July approved draft rules under which permits for goods originating from Israeli settlements would be refused. Ireland has approved draft legislation to ban imports of settlement goods.

The latest push for tougher measures followed Israel's advancement of the E1 settlement project in the West Bank last month, when it issued a tender for 1,234 housing units.

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