Norway is considering legislation that could impose prison sentences of up to three years on individuals or companies that trade with Israeli settlers in the West Bank, taking proposed restrictions on settlement commerce further than measures announced by a group of other Western countries.
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that he expects parliament, the Storting, to approve legislation this fall targeting trade with Israeli settlers in what Norway considers the occupied West Bank.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Eide calls it a ‘politically and symbolically significant step’
(Photo: Amit Shabi)
The proposal, being advanced by the Foreign Ministry in Oslo, would apply to both individuals and companies. A public consultation on the measure is scheduled to end on September 19.
It would also apply to East Jerusalem, which Israel considers an inseparable part of its capital, as well as to construction and infrastructure services connected to settlements.
Eide acknowledged that Norway’s direct trade with settlements is limited and consists mainly of products such as wine and agricultural goods. He described the initiative as carrying primarily political and symbolic significance.
Jørgen Jensehaugen, a senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, described the proposal as the lowest level of sanctions that could be imposed because it targets a relatively narrow range of economic activity rather than Israel’s economy more broadly.
He argued that wider measures against companies operating in settlements could have a significantly greater economic effect because of the close links between Israel’s wider economy and settlement activity.
‘Every Jew here will become a criminal’
The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from some Israelis living in Norway.
On Elpeleg, an Israeli resident who monitors antisemitic rhetoric in the country, said the key difference between Norway and other states considering settlement restrictions was Oslo’s willingness to impose criminal penalties.
“The meaning of Eide’s remarks is clear: This will turn every Jew here into a criminal,” he said. “Anyone who buys a bottle of wine or services from the settlements risks going to prison.”
He accused the Norwegian foreign minister of pursuing an extreme anti-Israel policy, saying, “I think the Norwegian foreign minister, who won an ‘antisemite of the year’ award here, has lost the plot.”
The allegation reflects Elpeleg’s characterization of Eide and is not part of the proposed legislation itself, which is framed around commercial activity linked to settlements rather than Jewish identity.
Part of a broader European push
Britain said last week that it would introduce legislation banning imports from settlements. Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Norway have also said they would pursue measures in the same direction.
Eide argued that the international environment surrounding Israel is changing, including in Washington. He said the Trump administration had responded relatively cautiously to the British initiative, saying that while the United States was not adopting a similar policy, it understood the underlying concerns reflected by the measure.
According to Eide, that response carried particular weight because Washington has historically provided Israel with strong diplomatic backing against international pressure.
He also argued that Israel’s ability to dismiss or deter criticism by invoking antisemitism was weakening.
Jensehaugen said the measures were also intended to increase the economic cost of Israel’s continued presence in the West Bank, linking the growing international pressure to developments in both the West Bank and Gaza.
Eide framed the effort as part of a broader shift in which middle-sized countries may increasingly act together when larger powers do not uphold what they see as international law and human rights standards.
Norway’s proposal remains under review and has not yet been enacted. If approved in its current form, however, it would mark one of the toughest criminal enforcement mechanisms yet proposed by a Western government against trade linked to Israeli settlements.