UN Experts: Ban on Israeli Settlement Trade is "Too Little, Too Late"

United Nations special rapporteurs stated on Thursday that a declared intention by 12 countries, including Britain and France, to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories is "a step in the right direction but came too late." The rapporteurs, who operate under the UN Human Rights Council's special procedures, noted that new measures announced by Britain regarding the "illegal Israeli occupation" could signal a "radical change." They highlighted that the British government has acknowledged that Palestinians in the West Bank have faced "ethnic cleansing."

The UN experts emphasized that Britain's recognition of Israeli settlers being "supported by the Israeli government" is a significant development in global discourse on the occupation and the ongoing dispossession of Palestinians. The 12 countries that announced the ban on products from illegal Israeli settlements and other measures include Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. These actions encompass measures related to settlement construction, funding, promotion, and associated trade, including arms export licenses to Israel.

The rapporteurs described the trade ban as an important step, acknowledging that settlements are integral to Israel's "illegal occupation, annexation of Palestinian territory, and the ongoing dispossession of the Palestinian people." They urged that these measures should not be limited to settlement products but should also include financial activities and services that facilitate settlement expansion.

Implementing these measures comprehensively, they added, could address the structures of "economic complicity" that have long contributed to the continuation and expansion of the illegal Israeli occupation. The joint announcement by the 12 nations was made on September 8.