Eight Arab and Islamic countries have backed the United Kingdom’s decision to ban the importation of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The countries also called on the international community to take similar measures against activities linked to Israeli settlements.
The foreign ministers of Qatar, Türkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates expressed their support in a joint statement issued in Doha on Wednesday.
The ministers welcomed Britain’s decision to ban settlement goods and impose restrictions on services linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
They said the move could encourage other countries to take similar actions in line with international law and hold organisations and individuals involved in settlement activities accountable.
The statement followed Britain’s announcement of new trade restrictions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including measures against individuals and organisations facilitating or profiting from settlement activities.
The UK had acted alongside France and Canada, whose leaders said Israeli settlements were illegal under international law and announced plans to restrict imports of goods from the settlements.
The three countries described the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and increasing settler violence as a direct and urgent threat to peace efforts and the possibility of a two-state solution.
In a separate statement, the foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK also expressed support for national or European restrictions on trade in goods originating from settlements considered illegal under international law.
The ministers warned that the situation in the West Bank was rapidly deteriorating due to what they described as unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion.
They said the developments were undermining the prospects of a two-state solution and pledged to take steps to protect the possibility of lasting peace.
The eight Arab and Islamic countries urged the wider international community to build on the latest measures by taking concrete action against activities that support or sustain Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
They said the restrictions were consistent with international law, citing United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 and the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion on Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory.
UN Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted in 2016, states that Israeli settlements in territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a major obstacle to achieving a two-state solution.
The International Court of Justice, in its July 2024 advisory opinion, also ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory was unlawful.
The court said countries had an obligation not to recognise the situation created by the occupation as legal or provide aid or assistance in maintaining it.
The eight countries urged Israel to reverse measures connected to settlement activities and those aimed at changing the geographical and demographic character of the occupied Palestinian territory.
They also stressed that Gaza remained an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The ministers called for the full and immediate implementation of United States President Donald Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.
The White House has described the 20-point proposal as a framework for peace, reconstruction, stability and long-term governance in Gaza.
However, disagreements over its implementation, particularly issues surrounding the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, have complicated efforts to move the plan forward.
The eight countries maintained that a two-state solution remained the only viable path to achieving a just and lasting peace in the region.
They called for the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in line with relevant United Nations resolutions and international law.
The latest statement comes amid growing international pressure over Israeli settlement expansion, with an increasing number of Western, Arab and Islamic countries calling for measures to protect the prospect of an independent Palestinian state and a negotiated two-state solution.
