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Norway drafts trade ban
Norway has announced plans to ban all trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory and has begun a public consultation on draft legislation, according to the foreign ministry.
“Norway’s government says it plans to ban all trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, and has announced consultation on a proposal for a new bill prohibiting such transactions”
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said, “The Israeli settlements in Palestine are in breach of international law,” and added that they “contribute to displacement, extreme violence and a situation that makes a peaceful solution impossible.”
The proposed law would prohibit trade in goods produced in Israeli settlements, including in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and would also restrict real estate transactions and services tied to construction, renovation, purchase or sale of property in those areas.
Al Jazeera reported that the consultation period runs until September 19, after which the government would consider whether to submit the proposed legislation to parliament.
SANA said the legislation is intended to prevent Norwegian citizens and companies from benefiting from or supporting activities linked to illegal Israeli settlement activity in Palestine.
Sanctions and diplomatic backlash
The Norwegian move follows a broader push on settlement-related measures, with Al Jazeera saying Norway joined five other countries—“the UK, Australia, Canada, France and New Zealand”—in imposing coordinated sanctions targeting networks involved in financing, enabling and carrying out settler violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Al Jazeera also reported that the Israeli government “lashed out by quickly withdrawing its ambassadors from Oslo, Dublin and Madrid and summoning the Norwegian, Irish and Spanish representatives in Tel Aviv.”
In the consultation process, the draft bill is being circulated for consultations for the next three months until September 19, while Eide framed the initiative as setting “firm limits for Norwegian trade and business activities,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Middle East Eye described the bill as legally binding and said it would recommend prohibiting Norwegian citizens and companies from profiting from or supporting Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise.
Al Jazeera quoted UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese saying, “A small step, the smallest step, but it’s a beginning.”
What Norway says is at stake
Norway’s draft legislation would apply to goods produced in settlements and would also cover real estate and related services, with Al Jazeera listing “the purchase of property in the settlements” and “the provision of services relating to the construction, renovation, purchase or sale of property.”
“Norway has begun a public consultation on draft legislation that would prohibit trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to the foreign ministry”
Al Jazeera said the government also intends to outlaw “the acquisition of commercial enterprises whose head office and production facilities are located in the settlements,” tying the restrictions to settlement-based business activity.
Eide warned that “The settlements undermine the basis for a Palestinian state,” and said Norwegian citizens and Norwegian companies “must not contribute to maintaining this development.”
The Al Jazeera report added that the bill’s consultation is expected to conclude on September 19, with the draft being reviewed over the next three months.
In parallel, Al Jazeera reported Albanese’s question about Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, quoting her: “how can a country that champions human rights, allow its vast sovereign wealth fund” to invest in entities linked to an occupation the ICJ has found illegal?
