Palestine welcomes Belgium's move to ban imports from Israeli settlements

In a statement issued Sunday evening, the ministry said the decision — adopted by the Belgian Federal Council of Ministers — reflected the kingdom’s commitment to the principles of international justice and respect for international law.

It said the move aligned with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which found Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, to be unlawful and affirmed that states are obliged not to recognise the situation or provide aid that helps sustain it.

The ministry called on other countries, parliaments and legislators to follow Belgium’s example by enacting similar measures — among them banning settlement products, barring investment in settlements, halting services and cutting ties with companies and institutions involved in settlement activity — and to activate international accountability mechanisms. It also urged sanctions on settlers and their organisations, and on individuals and entities that support settlement activity.

Such steps, the ministry said, would help bring an end to the occupation and to colonial policies it described as annexation, displacement and genocide against the Palestinian people, and would strengthen the prospects for peace and stability.

Belgium’s federal government approved the ban at its final cabinet meeting before the summer recess, according to the Belga news agency. The measure targets goods produced in settlements specifically, rather than all Israeli products, with implementation details still being finalised.

The decision places Belgium among a small but growing group of European states acting on their own ahead of any bloc-wide policy. Spain imposed a broad ban on settlement-origin products last year, and the Netherlands adopted a similar measure earlier this year. EU foreign ministers remain divided over a Europe-wide ban; the European Union is Israel’s largest trading partner. 

Israel maintains that its settlements are lawful and opposes measures targeting settlement trade as discriminatory. Most of the international community, and the International Court of Justice, regard the settlements as illegal under international law.