Flemish MEPs back call for EU ban on trade with Israeli settlements
A group of 57 MEPs is calling on the European Commission to introduce a complete trade ban on products originating from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, De Standaard reported on Thursday.
The appeal follows growing debate within the European Union over trade relations with Israeli settlements in occupied territories. The products involved include fruit and vegetables such as dates, avocados, mangoes and olives, as well as wine and industrial goods such as plastics, carpets and bathroom fittings.
Among the signatories are Flemish MEPs Hilde Vautmans, Wouter Beke, Kathleen Van Brempt and Sara Matthieu.
“Allowing these products onto our market is unacceptable because they are the product of gross human rights violations,” Vautmans, a member of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs committee, told De Standaard.
At a meeting of EU Foreign ministers on 21 April, member states failed to reach the required majority to suspend the trade component of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. France and Sweden have since pushed for restrictions on imports from Israeli settlements, potentially including a full ban, while Italy has also shown openness to the idea.
The MEPs argue that the issue has become increasingly urgent following a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, which stated that states should not engage in trade relations that contribute to maintaining what it described as an illegal situation in the occupied territories.
Several European countries, including the Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia, Ireland and Belgium, have already moved towards national import bans on settlement products. Belgium’s planned ban, however, has not yet entered into force and remains in the technical drafting phase.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO SIPA PRESS
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