Twelve countries said on Tuesday they intend to introduce or support restrictions on trade in goods with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Australia is not among them.
Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom signed a joint foreign ministers' statement saying Israel's actions in the West Bank "are undermining the possibility of a two-State solution" amid "unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project".
The commitment is more qualified than the headline suggests. The twelve confirm an intention to bring in national or European restrictions "or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures". Only Britain, France and Canada undertake to "bring forward national measures to ban trade in settlement goods". Ireland has already legislated, and a Dutch ban takes effect on 22 September. The Netherlands and Belgium are praised in the statement but did not sign it.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong set out Australia's position in the Senate at 1.50pm the same day, in a statement by senators rather than in answer to a question. "Today, I can announce Australia is pursuing further targeted measures in coordination with international partners to deter illegal settlements and settler violence," she said. "Australia is not, at this time, pursuing a blanket-style import ban."
Her reasoning was about consequences rather than principle. "We have concerns about the implementation of a blanket ban and unintended consequences for Australian businesses, for Palestinians and for Israelis, and we will continue to work with partners to protect the prospects of a two-state solution," she said. She called on Israel to stop settlers "destroying properties, displacing families and beating, torturing, sexually assaulting and killing Palestinians", and condemned Hamas, saying it "must play no role in the State of Palestine".
The further measures she announced were not described. No accompanying document has been published on the Foreign Minister's website, and the Hansard record does not say what they are.
Britain went furthest. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told the Commons the government would introduce an import ban on goods from settlements, act against companies and individuals providing "construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate for settlement expansion", and prohibit the advertising in Britain of land and property in settlements. He also stated a new legal position, that the occupation itself "is unlawful, because of Israel's entrenchment of its control, its intention to extend permanent sovereignty and its expansionist agenda via illegal settlements".
None of that is law yet. Miliband said the legislation "will be in place within six to nine months", and that the delay was "precisely because we want to get it right". What took immediate effect was narrower: five more individuals sanctioned, bringing to 38 the number designated over settler activity, and refusal of export licences that materially contribute to the occupation. He said Britain's argument was "not with the people of Israel" but "with the conduct of its Government".
Israel's response was directed at Britain alone. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar called the move "morally distorted" and "blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state", and ordered the British consulate-general in East Jerusalem to close, giving it 30 days. The consulate has not closed. Israel also moved to expel British representatives from the Gaza coordination centre at Kiryat Gat and to end British training of Palestinian Authority security forces. Nothing was announced against the other eleven signatories, and no ambassadors were summoned.
Australia has taken the people route rather than the goods route before. In June it imposed sanctions on three more Israeli individuals and four entities, including, for the first time, farming outposts Wong described as "hubs for settler violence". The same release said settlements "are illegal under international law". An earlier tranche in July 2024 covered seven individuals and one entity.
What Australia has never done is regulate the goods. There is no settlement labelling rule in Australian consumer law, no import restriction, and no advisory to business. The contrast with the country whose announcement prompted the question is direct. Britain's own trade guidance tells companies it "strongly advises against conducting any economic and financial activities in illegal Israeli settlements". The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Israel material says nothing on the subject and routes business enquiries to Austrade.
The trade at stake is modest. DFAT's figures for calendar 2025 put Australian exports to Israel at $292.3 million and imports at $935.6 million, making Israel Australia's 65th export destination and 50th import source. No agency publishes a figure for how much of that originates in settlements.
The legal backdrop is the International Court of Justice advisory opinion of 19 July 2024. Its reasoning said states should "abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory" that may entrench its presence. Its operative finding, carried 12 votes to 3, was narrower: that all states must not recognise the situation as legal and must not render aid or assistance in maintaining it. A UN General Assembly resolution that September went further than the court, calling on states to cease importing settlement products, and set a deadline that passed a year ago.
Australia recognised the State of Palestine on 21 September 2025, alongside Britain and Canada. Both of those countries have now moved on settlement trade. Australia has not, and its Ramallah office is operating remotely after Israel revoked its diplomats' visas.
Criticism came from the government's own side of politics. Former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr called the decision cowardly. In the Senate the following day, Greens senator David Shoebridge quoted Wong back and called the position "unbelievable gaslighting from Labor". The Coalition's response ran the other way, with Liberal MP Julian Leeser saying of the signatory countries that "they're always looking for opportunities to have a go at our democratic ally in the Middle East".
Anthony Albanese was asked directly on Tuesday whether Australia would follow Britain. He did not answer it. "Our position on the Middle East, I've made clear on a number of occasions," he said. "We support a two state solution."
Britain's legislation is six to nine months away. Australia's targeted measures have not been described, and the consulate in East Jerusalem has until early October.
