12 countries issue joint statement restricting trade in goods with Israeli settlements in West Bank

Twelve countries, including the UK, Canada and France, issued a joint statement on Tuesday, announcing the introduction of restrictions on trade in goods with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

"Today, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK confirm their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures," the nations' foreign ministers said in a joint statement.

The situation in the West Bank is rapidly deteriorating amid unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion, said the statement, adding that France, the UK and Canada will propose national-level measures to ban trade in goods with settlements.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday that France will launch a process to ban products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

"France is going to put an end to its commerce with Israeli settlements in Palestine, along with 11 other countries which have also undertaken similar engagements," Barrot wrote on X.

France maintains that Israel must halt settlement expansion and associated violence, Barrot said, adding that France cannot support, through trade, a situation that threatens the safety of Israelis and Palestinians as well as regional peace and stability.

He also called on the European Union to take appropriate measures.