Britain announced a comprehensive ban on imports of products made in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in Parliament on Tuesday.
The measure follows a surge in violence by Israeli settlers and accelerated settlement expansion across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The prohibition, scheduled to take effect within six to nine months, will focus on settlement‑produced items including dates, olive oil and other agricultural goods. Miliband emphasized that the British public does not wish to support the occupation by allowing such products in UK stores.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful. Several months later, the United Nations adopted a resolution demanding an end to the occupation within a year.
Israel reacted strongly, imposing four counter‑measures, among them a ban on 12 British members of Parliament and the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem.
In the wake of Miliband’s address, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden issued a joint declaration backing the two‑state solution and pledged to introduce restrictions on trade with illegal Israeli settlements.
Spain and Ireland, together with the Netherlands and Belgium, had already enacted national bans earlier this year.
How much do these countries trade with Israel?
All the nations other than Canada and the United Kingdom that are either considering or have already imposed bans are members of the European Union.
The European Union remains Israel’s foremost trading partner, representing 31.7 % of Israel’s total goods trade in 2025, worth €43.3 billion ($50.4 billion), according to the European Commission. The EU accounted for 33.1 % of Israel’s imports (€28 billion, $32.6 billion) and 29.4 % of its exports (€15.3 billion, $17.8 billion).
Israel ranks as the EU’s 27th largest trading partner, with Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany being its most significant bilateral partners.
A 2026 study by the Global Echo Litigation Center, a Palestinian rights advocacy organization, found that about 5,900 shipments from Israel were destined for Europe, with over 17 % of those consignments containing settlement‑origin goods.
Precise figures for settlement‑only trade remain unavailable, but analysts agree that such commerce constitutes a negligible portion of overall EU‑Israel trade, rendering the bans largely symbolic rather than economically substantial.
The table below shows each country’s total trade with Israel for the European countries that have banned, or are introducing bans on, illegal Israeli settlement goods.
The top five European trading partners with Israel either enforcing or set to introduce settlement bans are Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France and Spain.
Ireland
Bilateral trade between Ireland and Israel reached $5.36 billion in 2025. Ireland serves as Israel’s second‑largest export market for goods after the United States, with technology products—especially semiconductors and integrated circuits—accounting for the bulk of the volume.
The Netherlands
Annual trade between the Netherlands and Israel was about $4.8 billion in 2025. Moreover, the Netherlands is Israel’s leading foreign investor, providing roughly two‑thirds of total EU investment flows into Israel.
United Kingdom
UN Comtrade data show UK‑Israel bilateral trade amounted to $3.73 billion in 2025. An Al Jazeera investigation also revealed that at least 17 firms tied to illegal Israeli settlements hold over £2.1 billion ($2.85 billion) in UK public‑sector contracts.
France
France‑Israel bilateral trade was $3.62 billion in 2025, with a substantial share comprising export licences for surveillance and military technologies.
Spain
Bilateral trade between Spain and Israel reached $2.79 billion in 2025. In September of that year, Spain prohibited imports of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory and also banned arms trade with them.
![A sign painted on a wall in the occupied West Bank town of Bethlehem calling for a ban on Israeli products made in Palestinian occupied territories [Thomas Coex/AFP]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==)
What are Israeli settlements?
Israeli settlements are exclusively Jewish communities constructed on Palestinian land in contravention of international law.
Their establishment breaches the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into occupied territory, rendering the settlements illegal under international law.
Despite the 1993 Oslo Accords that created limited Palestinian self‑rule and envisaged a lasting peace, illegal Israeli settlements have continued to expand.
In the early 1990s roughly 270,000 settlers were present. Today the number exceeds 600,000–750,000 individuals—around 10 % of Israel’s Jewish population—spread across some 250 illegal settlements throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem.