Middle East crisis West Bank

EU braces for conflict over trade with West Bank

Monday's EU foreign ministers' meeting is expected to be dominated by the conflict over trade in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, writes Politico.

In one corner is a group of countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, who want to gather a majority to limit trade with the settlements, according to sources. They have the support of EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Ursula von der Leyen's EU Commission, and Germany and the Czech Republic, among others, oppose the initiative. Berlin and Prague intend to veto all Israel-related sanctions.

It is not a matter of large sums - trade in illegal settlements constitutes half a percent of total EU trade with Israel. However, for several countries it has become an important symbolic issue.

Kallas: Majority wants to strangle trade with settlers

A majority of EU countries want to see measures against Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, says EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas according to Reuters.

– The option that received the most support was to ban trade with illegal settlements, says Kallas after a meeting with EU foreign ministers.

She emphasizes that these are not measures against Israel, but against “illegal settlements that undermine the two-state solution”.

However, a decision may be delayed until this autumn, or even longer, if EU ministers do not agree to call an extraordinary meeting.