Norway issues formal advice against trade with Israeli settlements
Norway has issued formal advice against any trade or business activities with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Norwegian foreign minister said the new advice was being issued against the backdrop of escalating settlement expansion, as well as "increased settlement violence against the Palestinians."
"For many years, Norway has been clear that the settlement policy in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is in violation of international law, including humanitarian law and human rights, and undermines the possibility of a future Palestinian state and a peaceful solution to the conflict," said Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
"Norwegian industry has requested guidance from the Norwegian authorities - with this clarification, we make it clear that Norwegian businesses should be aware that, through economic or financial activity in the Israeli settlements that violate international law, they risk contributing to violations of international humanitarian law or human rights."
Since 7 October, when an attack by Hamas-led fighters in southern Israel killed 1,140 people, settler attacks in the occupied West Bank have become increasingly frequent.
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Around 300 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops and settlers in the last three months of 2023, bringing a total of 507 recorded deaths, including 124 children, according to the UN and rights groups.
Israel has also stepped up construction of illegal settlements.
On Wednesday, an Israeli minister said his government had pushed forward construction plans for thousands of new settler homes in the occupied West Bank.
Peace Now, which monitors settlement construction, said there had been 3,426 homes advanced through a planning committee, which are located across settlements including Maale Adumim and Kedar, east of Jerusalem, and Efrat, south of the city.
"Nearly 3,500 settlement units," Israeli Settlements Minister Orit Strock wrote Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter.
"We promised - we are delivering... Together we will continue to advance the settlements."
There are more than 490,000 Israeli settlers, who live amidst three million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
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