Spain and 11 countries announce restrictions against products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank

Eleven European countries —including Spain— and Canada announced this Tuesday their intention to impose restrictions or directly ban products from Israeli settlements in the occupied territory of the West Bank, where the creation and growth of settlements and violence by radical ultranationalists against Palestinians have increased in the last three years at an unprecedented rate.

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Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar focused his criticism on London and announced retaliations against the country: he will close the British consulate in East Jerusalem, prevent the entry of 12 “elected representatives and citizens” into the country, expel the United Kingdom from the multinational Civil and Military Coordination Center that oversees the ceasefire in Gaza, and prevent it from training the Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank.

France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Sweden, and Canada signed a joint declaration aimed at increasing diplomatic pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. They explained that they are considering adopting national measures, supporting restrictions at the European level, or applying other measures within their respective internal procedures.

“11 countries join Spain to end trade in products from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory,” announced the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, on his profile on the social network X. “Settlements and settler violence in the West Bank hinder the two-state solution and lasting peace,” added the head of Spanish diplomacy.

France, the United Kingdom, and Canada have specifically agreed to stop buying products from Israeli settlements —illegal under international law— although they have not yet set a timetable to implement the measure.

“France will end its trade with Israeli settlements in Palestine along with 11 other countries,” wrote French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on the social network X. “Why are we doing this? Because the West Bank is close to an explosion, there is a frantic expansion of settlements, a wave of violence against Palestinians by extremist settlers, acts of terror denounced by Israeli authorities themselves.”

The document explains that “the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Andy Burnham, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, agreed on the need to take measures to prevent the situation from further deteriorating.”

Barrot went further in his explanations on X: “This situation represents a serious affront to the dignity of the Palestinian people. It jeopardizes Israel’s security, to which France is unwaveringly committed. It compromises the two-state solution, the only alternative to a permanent state of war.”

“It is important to emphasize that this decision is in accordance with international law: the settlements are illegal, but this is not a boycott of the State of Israel, which remains a commercial and economic partner. We will continue to oppose international attempts to boycott Israel,” French diplomatic sources stressed.

“Ethnic cleansing”

In London, in an address to the British Parliament, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband emphasized the “deep sense of shame about what is happening in Palestine,” even accusing Israel of “looking the other way” in the face of the “ethnic cleansing” carried out by “settler terrorists.”

After acknowledging that British authorities had not done enough, Miliband said these sanctions practically reflect the British position: “I don’t think our citizens want us to support the occupation by accepting products from the settlements in our stores.”

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The British minister, who declared himself a “proud Jew,” wanted to “make clear” that this decision “is not against the people of Israel, but against the conduct of its Government.” “The official position of the British Government is that the occupation is illegal due to Israel’s consolidation of control, its intention to extend permanent sovereignty, and its expansionist agenda through illegal settlements,” Miliband pointed out.

The United Kingdom will reject any import that “materially contributes to the occupation” and described Tuesday’s sanctions package as a “clear message” to Netanyahu’s government: “We will not allow the destruction of the two-state solution” regarding the Palestinian conflict. Therefore, alongside the ban on products from the occupied territories, the United Kingdom “will take actions” against companies and individuals who provide services for the expansion of settlements, such as construction or financial advising. “You will face the full weight of British sanctions,” he warned in Parliament, where he repeatedly clarified that this “detailed sanctions regime” is aimed at illegal settlements, “not against Israel.”

The clarifications did not prevent Israel’s anger. Its Foreign Minister held a press conference, in Hebrew and English, to announce retaliations against London for having “initiated” the process but open to extending them to other countries. Saar described the decision as “unacceptable interference in the electoral process of a sovereign state,” referring to the elections Israel will hold on October 27.

“Whoever acts against Israel, Israel will act against them and they will lose their relevance in the region,” he assured. “The Jewish people have the right to live anywhere in the Land of Israel [the biblical term that includes at least Israel and Palestine] no less than the British in Great Britain or the French in France.”

The decision comes amid growing tension between Israel and several European countries. In mid-August, Netanyahu’s government announced the acceleration of plans to build 1,200 homes in the strategic area called E1, in the West Bank. At that time, several European countries, the European Commission, and Canada expressed their firm rejection of these plans, which would be an insurmountable obstacle to the creation of a future Palestinian state.

The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, told the BBC that the sanctions constituted “discrimination against the Jewish people.” He warned they could limit the UK’s ability to do business in some US states that prohibit companies boycotting Israel from bidding on state government contracts, participating in public procurement processes, or receiving public investments.

This Tuesday, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog called the future trade restrictions with the settlements “a serious miscalculation,” and the National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, went even further by proposing that Netanyahu recognize the Falkland Islands, British territory, as occupied Argentine territory.

The signatories also state that they are determined to act in favor of a “just and lasting” peace and to protect the necessary conditions to achieve a solution based on the coexistence of two states. “We will not allow the destruction of that solution,” Miliband insisted. “You will face the full weight of British sanctions.”

Additionally, the signatory countries expressed their concern about the increase in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and rejected any measure that could lead to the annexation of Palestinian territories or the forced displacement of the Palestinian population.

The NGO Shalom Ajshav (Peace Now, in Hebrew) has calculated that in 2025 alone, Netanyahu’s government approved the establishment of 54 new settlements and promoted nearly 28,000 homes, more than double previous annual records. More than half a million Israelis live in these colonies in the West Bank, plus more than 200,000 residing in the eastern part of Jerusalem, according to Peace Now data.

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