The Netherlands will ban products originating from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory from September 22, the Dutch government announced Tuesday.

The measure will prohibit the import, purchase and sale of goods produced in Israeli settlements that the government considers illegal under international law.

The Netherlands joins several European Union countries, including Ireland, Belgium and Spain, that have introduced restrictions on commercial activity linked to Israeli settlements.

Calls for coordinated EU-wide measures have intensified amid Israel’s military operations in Gaza and escalating settler violence in the occupied West Bank. However, divisions among the bloc’s 27 members have prevented a unified policy.

The Dutch Foreign Ministry said the ban reflected the country’s international legal obligation not to contribute to maintaining an unlawful situation.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers currently live there alongside approximately three million Palestinians.

A June report by an organization supporting Palestinian legal cases estimated that the Netherlands received roughly one-third of agricultural exports originating in Israeli settlements and approximately half of all settlement exports entering the European Union.

Violence across the West Bank has increased substantially since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, accompanied by further settlement expansion, forced displacement and attacks against Palestinian communities.