As humanitarian, development, human rights, and faith-based organisations, we have witnessed first-hand the catastrophic consequences of illegal Israeli settlements for Palestinian communities and livelihoods.

Israel’s illegal settlement project has fragmented the West Bank and destroyed the Palestinian economy, resulting in widespread poverty and suffering. Families we work with routinely face extremist settler violence, forcible transfer and dispossession, harsh restrictions on their freedom of movement, and a total denial of their right to self-determination and sovereignty.

Despite the devastating humanitarian impact and illegality of Israeli settlements under international law, foreign states continue to support Israeli settlements. The European Union (EU) and its member states represent Israel’s largest trading bloc,1 and the policies of these states continue to financially support and normalise the settlement economy. Foreign states, in clear violation of international law, sustain Israeli settlements by importing settlement-produced goods and allowing corporations under their jurisdiction to operate in, and trade with, illegal settlements. In doing so, these third states are directly contributing to the denial of Palestinians’ right to self-determination, systematic discrimination and human rights violations, forcible transfer and dispossession, and economic subjugation.

This report highlights how foreign states and corporations, through ongoing trade with illegal settlements, directly enable the humanitarian crisis driven by Israel’s prolonged occupation. With a focus on the EU and its member states and the UK, it addresses the urgent need for a ban on settlement trade as a mechanism to uphold international law, protect Palestinian livelihoods, and halt and reverse Israel’s settlement expansion and end its unlawful occupation. By examining the economic, humanitarian, and legal dimensions of settlements, the report argues that foreign trade of products and services with settlements sustains the occupation, contributes to the humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and violates international law.

Report by Oxfam