The European Union’s obligation to ban trade with Israel’s illegal settlements is not in question, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
The watchdog’s Associate Director and EU Advocacy Claudio Francavilla stressed that the ban is an obligation “to comply with international law,” rather than an option.
Francavilla said the European Commission could finally present a “list of options” to restrict that illegal trade at the EU level ahead of the July 13 EU foreign ministers gathering.
“But continuing to frame the ban as an ‘option’ is misleading: as more than 50 groups emphasized in a June 22 letter to the commission, the only “option” that complies with international and EU law is a ban,” he stressed.
The EU's obligation to ban trade with Israel’s illegal settlements is not a question—it's an obligation. But it has spent decades expressing “concerns” while Palestinians suffered atrocity crimes as Israel’s illegal settlement policy and abuses intensified https://t.co/3Sb7dIna5g
— Bassam Khawaja (@Bassam_Khawaja) June 30, 2026
“Israel’s settlements are illegal. The transfer of civilians from Israel into the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is a war crime, committed in a context of intensifying ethnic cleansing and apartheid against the Palestinian population, and a decades-long occupation that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found to be unlawful.”
Francavilla cited a 2024 advisory opinion, in which the ICJ found that all states have an obligation to “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the [OPT]”.
“The European Commission claims its trade policy complies with the obligations laid out by the ICJ, as the trade benefits granted to Israel under the bilateral association agreement do not extend to the illegal settlements,” the HRW’s associate director added.
“But that claim is patently flawed,” he noted, adding, “In fact, even if tariffs on settlement goods and services were meticulously applied (which they aren’t), that still would not prevent trade with the settlements. And that trade contributes to their economic viability, in breach of international law.”
He stated that EU treaty provisions and case law are clear that its trade must comply with international law, noting: “Currently, it doesn’t.”
The EU has spent decades expressing “concerns” while Palestinians suffered atrocity crimes, as Israel’s illegal settlement policy and related abuses only intensified, Francavilla stated, adding: “It should at least stop bankrolling them. And that’s not an option.”
Source: HRW (edited by Al-Manar)