The Netherlands will enforce a ban on the import, purchase, and sale of goods originating from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories starting 22 September 2026, the Dutch foreign ministry announced on Tuesday. The prohibition, which also covers brokering services and any attempt to circumvent the measures, applies to products from West Bank settlements and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, while ordinary trade with Israel remains unaffected. The move aligns the Netherlands with Ireland, Belgium, Spain, and Slovenia, which have already adopted similar national restrictions in the absence of an EU-wide consensus.

According to the Dutch government, the ban gives substance to its obligation under international law not to contribute to a situation it considers unlawful. The Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, responded by announcing cabinet approval for a new settlement in the northern West Bank, describing it as a “historic revolution” and the 104th such authorisation since the current government took office in 2022. Within the EU, the dossier remains blocked. Diplomats in Brussels note that France and Sweden have called for higher tariffs and stricter controls, while nine member states—including Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands—have urged Israel to halt settlement expansion. Yet the unanimity required for bloc-wide trade measures is absent, leaving individual capitals to act alone. In the Netherlands, the far-right politician Geert Wilders condemned the decision as a “betrayal” by the government.

A 413-page report published in June by the legal organisation Global Echo, which pursues cases on behalf of Palestinians, found that the Netherlands alone accounts for roughly one-third of all recorded agricultural exports from Israeli settlements and nearly half of such exports destined for the European Union. The annual trade, dominated by avocados, dates, oranges, grapes, and fresh herbs, is estimated to be worth tens of millions of euros, though precise figures are difficult to establish. Enforcement is complicated by traceability: the Dutch Council of State has noted that distinguishing settlement goods from those produced within Israel’s pre-1967 borders at customs remains challenging, as products are frequently labelled “Product of Israel”.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and more than 500,000 settlers now live there alongside approximately three million Palestinians, excluding East Jerusalem. All settlements are regarded as illegal under international law by the United Nations and most states. Violence in the occupied territory has escalated sharply since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, with rights groups and the UN reporting near-daily attacks by settlers. The Dutch ban, a temporary sanction decree valid for three years, builds on a policy in place since 2006 that discourages Dutch companies from engaging in business that supports settlement construction or maintenance. The decree enters into force on 22 September, while EU-level discussions remain stalled, and further national measures by other member states are expected to follow.