But the 27 ministers are not expected to take decisions about trade amid persistent divisions about how to respond to Israel\u2019s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>, and his government.<\/p>\n A part or total ban on imports from settlements is one of three options presented by the European Commission in a paper seen by the Guardian. The other two options are high tariffs that make trade economically unviable or an import licensing system. The leaked paper was first reported by Euronews.<\/p>\n Written in cautious, bureaucratic language, the paper notes that the options \u201ccan have a substantive impact on the EU-Israel relationship, also in view of the upcoming election\u201d, underscoring that the commission is mindful of Israel\u2019s general election later this year.<\/p>\n Israelis are due to go to the polls by 27 October, the first electoral test for Netanyahu since the 7 October 2023 terror attacks<\/a> by Hamas. Under the EU-Israel agreement, goods from the occupied Palestinian territories (the Golan Heights, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem) are not entitled to the preferential trade terms that apply to Israel.<\/p>\n At least 10 European member states, including Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, say the EU has an obligation to end trade with occupied territories, following a ruling from the international court of justice (ICJ) in 2024 that called on Israel to end its occupation<\/a> of the Palestinian territories \u201cas rapidly as possible\u201d. The ruling found multiple breaches of international law by Israel including activities that amounted to apartheid.<\/p>\n It said that states had to \u201ctake steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assists in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory\u201d.<\/p>\n This call to end trade with the settlements is backed by more than 100 legal scholars, who wrote to the European Commission\u2019s most senior trade and foreign policy officials this month affirming the EU\u2019s \u201cinternational legal obligation\u201d.<\/p>\n Ignacio Garc\u00eda Bercero, a former senior trade official at the commission, who signed the letter, said: \u201cThe only way to ensure compliance with the opinion of the ICJ is a ban on trade with the illegal settlements. Any other option will not be effective in view of Israeli policy to compensate settlement producers from tariffs paid on their exports to the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n A recent investigation by NGO Global Echo found that Israeli exporters benefit from illegal tax breaks<\/a> for products cultivated in settlements, while Israeli tax authorities permit misleading labels.<\/p>\n
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