Eight Muslim-majority countries back UK curbs on trade linked to Israeli settlements
JAKARTA, Sept 10 — Eight major Muslim-majority nations have welcomed the United Kingdom’s (UK) move to restrict trade linked to illegal Israeli settlements, hoping it will spur similar action internationally against settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The foreign ministers of Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates expressed support in a joint statement issued by Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
“We express the hope that this decision will help mobilise the international community to take similar actions in line with international law and hold accountable settlement organisations and individuals engaged in illegal settlement activities,” they said.
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament on Tuesday that Britain would ban imports of goods from illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and take action against companies and individuals providing services that facilitate settlement expansion, with legislation for the measures expected to be in place within six to nine months.
The eight ministers also welcomed a joint statement by Canada, the UK, and 10 other European countries, confirming their intention to introduce national restrictions and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with illegal settlements, or to actively consider such measures under their respective national procedures.
“They encourage the international community to build on these steps and adopt concrete measures to bring an end to activities that support or sustain illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the statement said.
The 10 European countries were Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.
The eight ministers said the announced intentions were in line with international law, relevant United Nations resolutions and the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion of July 19, 2024, while reiterating their call for Israel to rescind measures linked to settlement activities and those aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
They also stressed that Gaza is an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and called for the full and immediate implementation of the United States President Donald Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict to address the humanitarian situation, facilitate reconstruction and recovery, and lay the foundations for lasting peace.
The ministers reaffirmed that the only viable path to a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace is the implementation of the two-state solution through an independent, sovereign, contiguous, and viable Palestinian state based on the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
