Ban EU Trade and Business with Israel’s Illegal Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

We, the undersigned human rights organizations, trade unions and civil society groups, urge the European Commission to take action to ban all trade and business between the EU and Israel's illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), including East Jerusalem. Such action is essential for the EU and its member states to comply with their obligations under international law.

On July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a landmark advisory opinion [1] affirming that states must not recognize, aid, or assist the unlawful situation arising from Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory. The Court made clear that all states have “the obligation … to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the [OPT] or parts thereof which may entrench its unlawful presence in the territory”, and to “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the OPT”.

The EU’s current policy of distinguishing between goods produced in Israel and those produced in settlements falls short of these obligations. While this differentiation denies preferential trade terms for settlement goods, it still allows such goods to enter the EU market. This contravenes the obligations under international humanitarian law and as laid out by the ICJ, which require a complete ban on trade and business with Israel’s illegal settlements.

By trading with Israel’s illegal settlements, the EU, its member states and EU companies are not only breaching their own legal obligations but also contributing to the serious and systemic human rights and other international law abuses underpinning the settlement enterprise. The ICJ ruling laid those out in detail, concluding that Israel’s legislation and policies constitute a breach of article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid.

The EU member states have repeatedly issued statements unanimously condemning Israel’s settlements as illegal under international law and as a significant obstacle to achieving a two-state solution. [2] Those statements have often noted that the settlement enterprise drives severe abuses, including forced evictions, demolitions of civilian infrastructures (often targeting EU-funded projects), land confiscations, forced transfers, and widespread violence by state-backed settlers and Israeli forces. These abuses have been deemed so serious by EU member states that they overcame their sharp divisions and imposed targeted sanctions on limited number of settlers and settler-affiliated entities.

Yet, despite EU consensus about the settlements’ illegality and their link to serious abuses, the EU continues to trade and allow business with them, helping to sustain the serious human rights and international law violations inexorably intertwined with settlements’ maintenance and expansion.

In light of the urgent need for compliance with international law and to halt EU, member states’ and businesses’ contribution to Israel’s serious abuses, we call on the Commission to immediately take the following actions:

1. Introduce Legislation to Ban Trade with and Investments in Settlements: Propose legal acts banning all imports and exports of goods and services from and to Israel’s illegal settlements in the OPT as well as investments therein; we note, in that regard, that the Commission has the authority to propose a ban on trade with settlements under the Common Commercial Policy, as it has acknowledged; [3] and
2. Issue a Strengthened Business Advisory: Pending the adoption of such legislation, publish a reinforced advisory document discouraging European businesses from activities benefitting the Israeli settlements. This should go significantly further than the existing EU advisory document [4] in order to discourage all trade with settlements (as Norway has done [5]) and engagement with Israeli banks and enterprises operating in illegal settlements due to the significant risk of contributing to serious human rights violations and breaches of international law and ensure that the entire value chain falls under the scope of the legislation.

We look forward to a prompt reply, and hope the European Commission will swiftly take the measures necessary to comply with international law and to end complicity in abuses.

Yours sincerely,

1. 11.11.11

2. A Plataforma Unitária de Solidariedade com a Palestina (PUSP)

3. Academics for Palestine - Ireland

4. ACT Alliance EU

5. Act Church of Sweden

6. ActionAid Denmark

7. ActionAid France

8. ActionAid International

9. ActionAid Italy

10. ACV-CSC Belgium

11. Anti-Zionst Jewish Alliance in Belgium (AJAB)

12. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights

13. Al-Haq

14. Al-Haq Europe

15. Amis de Sabeel France

16. Amnesty International

17. Anti-Racist Forum ry

18. AOI ETS

19. ARCI

20. Association Belgo-Palestinienne WB

21. Association Culture et Paix (ACP)

22. Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine (AURDIP)

23. Association France Palestine Solidarité

24. Assopace Palestina

25. Belgian Academics and Artists for Palestine/Belgian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (BA4P/BACBI)

26. BePax

27. Broederlijk Delen

28. Business and Human Rights Resource Centre

29. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

30. Campagna Ponti e Non Muri - Pax Christi Italia

31. Caritas Europa

32. CCFD-Terre Solidaire

33. CEDETIM

34. Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)

35. Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses - Intersindical Nacional (CGTP-IN)

36. Child Rights International Network (CRIN)

37. Chrétiens de la Méditerranée

38. Christian Aid Ireland

39. CIDSE

40. CNCD-11.11.11

41. CNE CSC Belgium

42. Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe

43. Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO)

44. Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT)

45. Confédération générale du travail (CGT)

46. Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL)

47. Conselho Português para a Paz e Cooperação

48. COSTRUTTORI DI PACE

49. CRID

50. CULTURE DE PALESTINE

51. Danish Muslim Aid

52. De-Colonizer

53. Defence for Children International

54. DIAKONIA (Sweden)

55. Društvo OV-CA

56. Dutch Scholars for Palestine

57. Een Andere Joodse Stem (Another Jewish Voice, Belgium)

58. EinStaat – Konfliktzonen Kunst & Denkkollektive - OneState Embassy Art collective

59. Ekō

60. Entraide et Fraternité

61. Eurocadres

62. EuroMed Rights

63. European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine - ECCP

64. European Legal Support Center

65. European Middle East Project (EuMEP)

66. European Trade Union Network for Justice in Palestine

67. Fackförbundet ST

68. Fédération Artisans du Monde

69. Fem-R ry

70. FGTB-ABVV

71. Finnish Development NGOs - Fingo

72. Finnish Refugee Advice Centre

73. Finnish Women´s Association Unioni (Naisasialiitto Unioni ry)

74. Finnwatch ry

75. FLC CGIL

76. Forum Ziviler Friedensdienst e.V.

77. France Amérique latine FAL

78. GLAN | Global Legal Action Network

79. GREI 250

80. Helsinki Pride Community

81. Human Rights Watch

82. Humanitas - Centre for Global Learning and Cooperation

83. HuSoMe

84. INTAL

85. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

86. International Media Support

87. International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)

88. Intersindical Valenciana

89. Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign

90. ISCOD SINDICALISTAS SIN FRONTERAS

91. Istituto Italiano di Ricerca per la Pace – Corpi Civili di Pace

92. Jeunes FGTB

93. Judeus pela Paz e Justiça

94. Kommunal, Swedish Municipal Worker's Union

95. La Cimade

96. medico international

97. Mladí zelení, z.s.

98. Mondiaal FNV

99. Movimento pelos Direitos do Povo Palestino e pela Paz no Médio Oriente - MPPM

100. MUNDUBAT

101. Ne naším jménem! - Za spravedlivý mír na Blízkém východě

102. Netzwerk Ökumenisches Begleitprogramm in Palästina und Israel in

Deutschland e.V

103. No Name Kitchen

104. Nuorten mielenterveysseura - Yeesi ry

105. Olof Palmes Internationella Center

106. Organizacija za participatorno družbo

107. Oxfam

108. OZ Prirodzene

109. Palestina Solidariteit vzw

110. Palestina.lt

111. PAX

112. Pax Christi Diözesanverband München und Freising

113. Pax Christi Dt. Sektion e.V.

114. Pax Christi Flanders

115. Pax Christi International

116. Pax Christi Italia

117. Paz con Dignidad

118. Peace Institute, Ljubljana

119. PIC - Legal Center for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment

120. Plan International

121. Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine

122. PROJA Institut

123. Proti dehumanizaci

124. Red Universitaria por Palestina (RUxP), ES.

125. REF- Réseau Euromed France

126. Réseau Euromed France

127. RESEAU FEMINISTE "RUPTURES" FRANCE

128. ResQ - People Saving People

129. Rete Italiana Pace e Disarmo

130. Rete Ricerca e Universita' per la Palestina, Italy

131. Sadaka-the Ireland Palestine Alliance

132. Saplinq, o.z.

133. Seta LGBTQI+ Rights Finland

134. Sindicato Andaluz de Trabajadores (SAT)

135. Sindikat Mladi plus (Trade Union Youth Plus)

136. Slovene Philanthropy

137. SOLIDAR

138. SOUTIEN BELGE OUTRE-FRONTIERES - SB OVERSEAS

139. Stichting Kifaia

140. Sumud - the Finnish Palestine Network

141. Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society

142. The Finnish League for Human Rights

143. The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation

144. The National Council of Women of Finland

145. The Rights Forum

146. Trans ry / Trans Association

147. UGT

148. Umanotera

149. Un Ponte Per (NGO)

150. Union des Progressistes Juifs de Belgique (UPJB)

151. Union syndicale Solidaires (France)

152. United Against Inhumanity (UAI)

153. UnPontePer

154. Vida Justa

155. Viva Salud

156. Vrede vzw (Belgium)

157. Vredesactie

158. VSS FF UL (Visokošolski sindikat Slovenije) - sindikalna celica Filozofske fakultete v Ljubljani

159. Weltfriedensdienst e.V.

160. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

161. ZASUK - sindikat za ustvarjalnost in kulturo

162. Zavod Tri / Three Institute

163. Zavod za podporo civilnodružbenih iniciativ in multikulturno sodelovanje Pekarna

Magdalenske mreže Maribor

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[1] ICJ Advisory Opinion, Legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, 19 July 2024.

[2] Latest, among many: HRC57 - Item 4: General debate on human rights situations that require the Council's attention.

[3] Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1484, 8 September 2021, recital 11).

[4] Common messages aimed at raising awareness among EU citizens and businesses regarding involvement in financial and economic activities in the settlements, 30 June 2013.

[5] Press release, Do not engage in trade and business cooperation that serves to perpetuate Israel's occupation of Palestine, 22 October 2024.