Netherlands bans imports from illegal Israeli settlements

Amman, July 21 (Petra) – The Dutch government announced Tuesday that
it will ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied
Palestinian territories effective September 22

The Dutch Foreign Ministry stated that the ban applies to the
“import, purchase, and sale of products originating from illegal
Israeli settlements located in the Palestinian territories.”

“We want to prevent Dutch society, through its economic activities,
from contributing to an unlawful occupation and the maintenance of
illegal settlements,” said Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten.

The Netherlands joins EU members Ireland, Belgium, and Spain in
restricting trade with Israeli settlements.

Calls across the 27-nation bloc for EU-wide trade restrictions
intensified amid ongoing military aggression in Gaza and rising
violence in the West Bank.

A June report by Global Echo, a non-governmental organization
tracking legal cases for Palestinians, found that the Netherlands
accounts for roughly one-third of all agricultural exports
originating from Israeli settlements and nearly half of those
destined for EU nations, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

//Petra// HA