Investigation alleges European trade helps sustain Israeli settlements
A new report by legal non-profit Global Echo alleges that fruit and vegetables grown in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory and the Syrian Golan Heights were routinely declared as Israeli products for export to Europe.
The investigation examined more than 30,000 export documents covering over 6,800 shipments between October 2017 and February 2026 and found that about one in six shipments to Europe contained settlement produce, much of it labelled as originating in Israel.
The report, titled Importing Occupation, described the practice as helping settlement goods benefit from tariff preferences granted to Israeli exports.
Michael Lynk, a former UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, called the issue "systematic concealment", adding: "Settlement produce are hidden in plain sight, redirected through sham addresses, or mingled with goods from within Israel's recognised borders until legal distinction is dissolved in bureaucratic practice."
The report also accused European importers of "financially sustaining the Israeli settlement enterprise", while Global Echo said it plans to pursue "legal action to force action on these violations".
Construction cranes operate in the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev in annexed east Jerusalem, 22 May 2026 (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)