Egypt urges EU, international community to ban products from illegal Israeli settlements

Egypt on Sunday called on European Union countries and the international community to ban imports of goods and products originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, following a similar move by Belgium.

The Belgian government on Saturday announced a ban on imports from Israeli settlements, according to the Belgian news agency Belga.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the move, saying it “supports the values of justice and represents a practical and responsible application of the principles of international law and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.”

It particularly cited UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which affirms the illegality of Israeli settlements and calls for their immediate cessation to prevent the undermining of peace prospects and the two-state solution.

Cairo urged EU member states and the wider international community to adopt similar legal measures banning settlement products.

The ministry stressed that security and peace in the Middle East could only be achieved by “ending the occupation and enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their legitimate rights, foremost among them establishing an independent, sovereign state along the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

The UN has repeatedly affirmed that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law, warning that they undermine prospects for a two-state solution.

Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, based on international resolutions that do not recognize Israel’s occupation of the territory in 1967 or its 1980 annexation of the city.