ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The United Kingdom, France, and ten other countries on Tuesday announced their intention to impose trade sanctions on goods originating from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, citing an uptick in settler violence and settlement expansion in violation of international law.

"The actions of the Israeli government in the West Bank undermine the possibility of a two-state solution," read the opening line of a joint statement made by the foreign ministers of France, the UK, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden.

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers now live in communities scattered across the West Bank, territory Israel has occupied since 1967. These settlements are deemed illegal under international law.

"The situation is deteriorating rapidly as settler violence and settlement expansion have reached unprecedented levels, including the unacceptable decision to issue tenders for the E1 settlement project," it continued, referring to Israel's recent commencement of the tendering process for a large-scale settlement in East Jerusalem that has been widely-criticized for carving up Palestinian territory and rendering a two-state solution impossble.

The proceeding of the E1 settlement has drawn extensive criticism in European capitals, coming as the European Union has adopted a more outwardly critical posture toward Israel following years of a genocidal military campaign in Gaza that sparked worldwide outrage.

The European nations and Canada welcomed prior steps by Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium to restrict trade orginating from the settlements and vowed to implement or "seriously consider" national measures to that end, as well as supporting measures taken at the EU level.

"Together, we are convinced that the two-state solution must be protected," the statement continued. "We firmly oppose any action that would result in the annexation of Palestinian land and the forced displacement of Palestinian populations."

"The Israeli government must immediately halt the expansion of settlements and civilian administrative powers, ensure that settlers who commit violence are held accountable, and investigate allegations against Israeli forces."

The statement further recognized Israel's "legitimate security interests" and reaffirmed condemnation of Hamas' October 7, 2023, "terrorist attack" in Israel that saw over a thousand people killed.

Speaking ahead of the announcement, which had been expected, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that the move "will prove to be a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history."

Palestinians and human rights organizations have long accused the Israeli army of turning a blind eye to extremist settlers, if not actively shielding them. Yet there are also increasingly more Israeli voices criticizing settler violence and highlighting the complicity of the Israeli army, which allows them to act with impunity.

Recent settler attacks have drawn criticism from quarters that are usually ardently pro-Israel, inlcluding the US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who often deploys Evangelical Christian narratives to support the presence of a Jewish state in the region and justify Israeli actions.

In May 2026, Israel launched an online system for the registration of territories inhabited by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, a move that critics have termed as a discreet step toward the de-facto annexation of the Palestinian land.