NEW YORK, September 18, 2026 (WAFA) — UN Special Rapporteurs said that the announcement by 12 countries, including Britain and France, of their intention to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory represents “a step in the right direction, but far too late.”
In a statement issued on Thursday evening, the experts said new measures announced by the British government regarding Israel’s unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory could mark a “seismic shift,” noting that the UK government had acknowledged that Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are being subjected to “ethnic cleansing.”
The UN experts said Britain’s recognition that Israeli colonists are supported by the Israeli government represents an important development in the international discourse surrounding Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory and the dispossession of the Palestinian people.
The 12 countries — Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Britain — announced their intention to introduce national measures and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods originating from Israeli settlements that are illegal under international law.
The statement said the measures include those announced by Britain concerning the construction, financing and promotion of Israeli settlements, as well as settlement-related trade, including export licensing for arms to Israel.
“This is a step in the right direction and far too late,” the experts said, adding that banning trade with Israel’s settlement enterprise is significant because it recognizes the central role of settlements in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, its annexation policies and the continuing dispossession of Palestinians.
UN Special Rapporteurs operate under the Human Rights Council’s special procedures, which involve independent experts mandated to monitor, examine and report on human rights situations and thematic issues worldwide. They serve in their individual capacities and on a voluntary, independent basis.
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