The Israeli government plans to pay companies in illegal settlements up to 200,000 shekels ($54,000) following a commitment by European countries to ban their goods amid escalating human rights abuses against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Roey Fisher, head of Israel’s Foreign Trade Administration at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, told Israeli media outlet Calcalist that it has set up a “dedicated team” to help companies operating in illegal settlements find “alternative markets”, including the Philippines, India, the United Arab Emirates, Chile and Argentina. The assistance also covers exporters of fresh produce, and more than 25 applications for assistance have already been submitted by companies expected to be affected, the report added.
Fisher, however, played down the immediate reach of the bans. She said the grants were unlikely to fully offset lost sales in the short term, with the UK and EU together accounting for “over a third of Israel’s exports”. But Norman said the government support highlighted a broader challenge for countries seeking to economically target settlements.
Shamiul Joarder, director at Friends of Al-Aqsa, a UK-based nonprofit, told Al Jazeera that government support helping exporters find alternative markets could “cushion the commercial impact” of the bans. While a growing number of countries have pledged to restrict trade with Israeli settlements, far fewer have actually put those measures into force. On September 8, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement saying they intended to introduce national restrictions, support restrictions at the European level or were considering such measures.
But among those countries, only a handful have enacted restrictions. Spain and Ireland have introduced measures targeting imports of settlement goods, while the Netherlands brought its ban into force on September 22. The Dutch measure goes further than some others.
It prohibits the import, purchase and sale of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, as well as services facilitating that trade and attempts to circumvent the restrictions. Its significance also extends beyond the Dutch market, with the Netherlands serving as a major gateway for goods entering the rest of Europe. Elsewhere, measures remain at various stages and are not yet operational.
Belgium’s cabinet approved a draft measure on July 18 that would systematically refuse import permits for goods identified as coming from Israeli settlements. But the proposal includes a 120-day transition period and was sent to the Council of State for an opinion, meaning cabinet approval alone did not bring it into force. Norway has put forward draft legislation that would go further than an import ban, prohibiting both imports from and exports to illegal Israeli settlements.
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