The United Kingdom, Canada, and France have implemented bans on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, a move that follows a significant increase in violence against Palestinians in the region. According to the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, 80 attacks by Israeli settlers resulted in casualties or property damage between August 11 and August 24.
These incidents contributed to a broader trend of violence. The UN reports that over 1,040 Palestinians have been injured in such incidents across 2026, and 79 Palestinians, including 19 children, have been killed by Israeli military personnel or settlers this year. This violence has escalated since the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and took over 200 hostages. Since those attacks, an additional 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband stated that the Israeli government had "too often turned a blind eye" to these occurrences. Following the lead of the U.K., Canada and France announced their trade bans on Tuesday. They were joined by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, which also backed national or European restrictions, though their specific commitments vary.
In total, the governments of 12 countries have now endorsed sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. These actions are taken while these nations affirm their support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.