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Rights Groups Urge EU to Restrict Trade with Israeli Settlements
(MENAFN) Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called on the European Union Tuesday to prohibit trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, urging European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to advance measures she introduced a year earlier.
In a joint statement issued ahead of von der Leyen’s annual State of the EU address, the organizations said “almost none” of the measures presented last year had been implemented.
The groups called on von der Leyen to bring back her proposal to suspend the trade provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and introduce sanctions targeting Israeli officials and settlers. They also urged the bloc to establish an EU-wide prohibition on trade with Israeli settlements.
According to the organizations, the EU was “lagging behind” as a growing number of member states and allied countries adopted measures aimed at limiting economic activity linked to the settlements.
They also highlighted the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank, noting that the reported number of Palestinians killed in Gaza had climbed to nearly 74,000, compared with at least 64,000 when von der Leyen delivered her previous address in 2025.
The groups said Israeli authorities were continuing to restrict humanitarian assistance while limiting Gaza’s population to roughly 30% of the territory. They added that proposals to remove Palestinians from Gaza were increasingly being discussed publicly.
In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the organizations said settlement construction had accelerated alongside demolitions of Palestinian homes, land confiscations and the displacement of Palestinian residents.
In a joint statement issued ahead of von der Leyen’s annual State of the EU address, the organizations said “almost none” of the measures presented last year had been implemented.
The groups called on von der Leyen to bring back her proposal to suspend the trade provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and introduce sanctions targeting Israeli officials and settlers. They also urged the bloc to establish an EU-wide prohibition on trade with Israeli settlements.
According to the organizations, the EU was “lagging behind” as a growing number of member states and allied countries adopted measures aimed at limiting economic activity linked to the settlements.
They also highlighted the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank, noting that the reported number of Palestinians killed in Gaza had climbed to nearly 74,000, compared with at least 64,000 when von der Leyen delivered her previous address in 2025.
The groups said Israeli authorities were continuing to restrict humanitarian assistance while limiting Gaza’s population to roughly 30% of the territory. They added that proposals to remove Palestinians from Gaza were increasingly being discussed publicly.
In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the organizations said settlement construction had accelerated alongside demolitions of Palestinian homes, land confiscations and the displacement of Palestinian residents.
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