Thirteen non-governmental organizations have called on French lawmakers to pass legislation banning the import, purchase and sale of goods produced in Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank, seeking to end France’s trade in products originating from the illegal settlements.

The organizations, which include Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS), Oxfam France, and the Human Rights League (LDH), have called on the French government to endorse the legislation.

The proposed bill has received support from more than 100 lawmakers across eight parliamentary blocs.

The draft legislation was approved by a French parliamentary committee last Monday and is set to be discussed in the full parliament on November 19.

The bill would ban imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements and services that contribute to the construction and expansion of these settlements.

“Trade with the settlements masks a humanitarian reality that cannot be ignored: The lives of Palestinians are being gradually stifled by the occupation and the settlements,” Cécile Duflot, Executive Director of Oxfam France, stated.

Additionally, Nathalie Tehio, President of the LDH, emphasized that French lawmakers have a distinct decision to make: “Either they align with international law or oppose it.”

Israel issues tenders for 732 illegal settler units near Bethlehem

Israeli officials have issued tenders for 732 new units in an illegal settlement built west of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

The organizations expressed regret that France’s diplomatic recognition of the State of Palestine has not been accompanied by tangible actions, urging the government to instruct the parliamentary majority to support the bill.

About 750,000 Israeli settlers live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds.

Since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have carried out 62,916 attacks against Palestinians, their lands, and properties in the occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds, according to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC), which monitors settlement activity.

In June, 14 UN special rapporteurs cautioned that the alarming increase in “settler terrorism,” which is conducted with the backing and complicity of Israeli officials in the occupied Palestinian territories, constitutes a grave threat to the Palestinian communities.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of historical Palestine illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds.