On September 8, the British government banned the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Eleven other nations—Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden—signed a joint statement with the UK, saying they too plan to introduce sanctions prohibiting trade in goods with the settlements.

“The Government of Israel must immediately halt the expansion of settlements and civilian administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence, and investigate allegations against Israeli forces,” the foreign ministers of the twelve countries wrote.

Since 2023, according to a Human Rights Watch report, Israeli settlers have fully or partially displaced 107 different West Bank communities. With Israeli military backup, settlers frequently attack and kill Palestinians. In July of 2024, the United Nations’ top court declared that settlements in the West Bank—housing over 500,000 Jewish Israelis, buoyed by religious fervor and generous government tax breaks—are illegal under international law. Nonetheless, West Bank settlers are subsidized by millions of dollars from........

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