EU countries weigh trade ban on Israeli settlements

BRUSSELS, Belgium: EU foreign ministers on Monday discussed imposing an import ban on products from Israeli settlements, after pressure from a raft of member states.

"Everybody agrees that the situation in the West Bank is really intolerable," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at the start of a meeting in Brussels.

"What is happening in the West Bank is actually making it more and more impossible that the two-state solution ever can come into effect."

Illegal under international law

Several EU countries -- including Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain -- have already imposed their own trade restrictions on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, considered illegal under international law.

Under pressure for the EU as a whole to take measures, the bloc's executive last week laid out options to curb trade with settlements, including a ban.

"There have been a lot of asks and requests from the member states regarding the ban of the trade with illegal settlements," Kallas said.

"Let's see if these options that have been provided now will have a stronger push from member states."

Diplomats said the debate at a meeting in Brussels on Monday was not expected to yield any concrete decisions, but would help to sound out if there is enough support to move forward.

The slow pace of the discussion has angered countries keen to curb trade -- with some diplomats accusing the European Commission of dragging its feet.

Belgium's foreign minister Maxime Prevot said the options laid out appeared to be more "a bone to gnaw on than a genuine desire to move forward."

"We are calling for concrete proposals," he said.

Germany, Italy undecided

There is disagreement in Brussels as to whether that move would need backing from all 27 member states or just a weighted majority.

Diplomats say that key players Germany and Italy are still undecided on the move.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Worst displacement crisis

More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the territory, excluding east Jerusalem.

The UN chief Antonio Guterres has condemned the "relentless" expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying in a report seen by AFP last month that they are contributing to the territory's worst displacement crisis since 1967.

The EU has long been hampered by divisions over its approach toward Israel, with some members staunchly backing the country and others supporting the Palestinians.