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.
Several European countries previously issued sanctions following a 2024 ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the settlements were illegal under international law.
The moves come amid deadlock in the EU over proposals to introduce an EU-wide ban on settlement goods, with key states such as Germany and Italy stalling.
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