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EU foreign ministers discussed Monday whether to impose an import ban on products from Israeli settlements, as several member states press the bloc to take action over conditions in the occupied West Bank.
The debate in Brussels followed pressure from countries calling for EU-wide measures against trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are considered illegal under international law.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ministers broadly agreed that the situation in the West Bank had become unacceptable.
“Everybody agrees that the situation in the West Bank is really intolerable,” Kallas said at the start of the meeting.
“What is happening in the West Bank is actually making it more and more impossible that the two-state solution ever can come into effect,” she added.
Several EU countries, including Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain, have already imposed their own trade restrictions on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Under pressure for the EU as a whole to take measures, the bloc’s executive last week presented options to curb trade with settlements, including a possible import ban.
“There have been a lot of asks and requests from the member states regarding the ban on trade with illegal settlements,” Kallas said.
“Let’s see if these options that have been provided now will have a stronger push from member states,” she added.
Diplomats said Monday’s debate was not expected to produce concrete decisions but would help determine whether there is enough support to move forward.
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The slow pace of the discussion has angered countries seeking curbs on settlement trade.
Some diplomats accused the European Commission of dragging its feet.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the options laid out appeared to be more “a bone to gnaw on than a genuine desire to move forward.”
“We are calling for concrete proposals,” Prevot said.
There is also disagreement in Brussels over whether a trade ban would need support from all 27 EU member states or only a weighted majority.
Diplomats said key players Germany and Italy remain undecided on the move.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
Over 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the territory, excluding East Jerusalem, among about 3 million Palestinians.
U.N. chief Antonio Guterres condemned the “relentless” expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank in a report seen by AFP last month.
Guterres said the expansion is contributing to the territory’s worst displacement crisis since 1967.
The EU has long been divided over its approach toward Israel, with some members strongly backing the country and others supporting the Palestinians.
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