Sanctions on Israeli settlements: Here’s what Europe is saying and doing

Sanctions on Israeli settlements: Here’s what Europe is saying and doing Relations between Israel and European states have deteriorated after the UK led moves on Tuesday to impose sanctions against Israeli settlements.

In London, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, using some of the harshest language by a government minister about Israel, said that the decision came amid the “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank perpetrated by settler terrorists”.

In Paris, meanwhile, his opposite number Jean-Noel Barrot announced similar measures, saying that “France cannot, through its trade, support a situation that threatens the security of Israelis and Palestinians alike”.

In a joint statement, they, along with the foreign ministers of Spain, Ireland Norway and others, confirmed their intention to “introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures”.

Several countries, notably Sweden, Denmark and Finland, later stated that they would only impose sanctions as part of joint EU action rather than unilaterally, according to Israeli media reports.

Read more: Sanctions on Israeli settlements: Here’s what Europe is saying and doing The Israeli government wants to build settlements in the E1 corridor in the occupied West Bank, pictured here in September 2026 (AFP)