EU foreign ministers to discuss ban on products from West Bank settlements

Bloc’s executive lays out options to curb trade with Israeli settlements; Italy and Germany said undecided, but unclear if the move must be unanimous

BRUSSELS, Belgium — EU foreign ministers will discuss imposing an import ban on products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, after pressure from a raft of member states for the bloc to take action, diplomats said Friday.

Diplomats said the debate at a meeting in Brussels on Monday was not expected to yield any concrete decisions, but would help to sound out if there is enough support to move forward.

Several EU countries — including Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain — have already imposed their own trade restrictions on Israeli settlements in the disputed territory, which most countries consider illegal under international law.

Under pressure for the EU as a whole to take measures, the bloc’s executive this week laid out options to curb trade with settlements, including a ban.

There is disagreement in Brussels as to whether that move would need backing from all 27 member states or just a weighted majority.

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Diplomats say that key players Germany and Italy are still undecided on the move.

Israel has controlled the West Bank since capturing the territory from Jordan during the 1967 Six Day War.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem — a move not recognized by most of the international community — while the West Bank has remained under varying forms of Israeli military and civil rule ever since.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers now live in the latter territory, among some three million Palestinians.

The UN chief, Antonio Guterres, has condemned the “relentless” expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying in a report seen by AFP last month that they are contributing to the territory’s worst displacement crisis since 1967, a phenomenon tied to violence by extremist settlers against local Palestinians.

The EU has long been hampered by divisions over its approach toward Israel, some members staunchly backing the country and others supporting the Palestinians.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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