The foreign ministers of 11 European countries and Canada issued a joint statement published Tuesday by the United Kingdom and France announcing sanctions on Judea and Samaria.

The statement stated or called for the following:

• Israel’s planned settlement building in Section E1 undermines the possibility of a two-state solution.
• Settlement expansion must immediately cease, civilian administrative powers must be withheld, and settlers who engage in violence against Arabs must be held to account.
• The unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion are contributing to a rapidly deteriorating situation in Judea and Samaria.
• The countries will sanction goods from settlements considered illegal under international law.

The countries are Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

“Together, we are convinced that the two-state solution must be protected, and we are determined to act in favor of a just and lasting peace, based on the principles set out in the New York Declaration adopted one year ago. We strongly oppose any action that results in the annexation of Palestinian land and the forced displacement of Palestinian populations,” the statement read.

“The Israeli government must immediately put an end to the expansion of settlements and civilian administrative powers, ensure that settlers responsible for violence are held accountable for their actions, and investigate allegations involving Israeli forces,” it added.

The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, posted a statement Tuesday on X explaining France’s participation in the joint statement.

“France will end trade with Israeli settlements located in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, alongside eleven other countries that have made similar commitments,” he wrote, explaining that “the West Bank is on the brink of explosion: unchecked expansion of colonization in violation of international law, surge in violence perpetrated by extremist settlers against Palestinians, acts of terror denounced by the Israeli authorities themselves.”

He added that this “deleterious situation” undermines the dignity of the Palestinian people, harms Israel’s security interests, and makes a two-state solution impossible.

While acknowledging that the Oct. 7 attack “is an immense, indelible wound that must not be minimized or relativized,” he called on Israel to “imperatively put an end to illegal colonization and the intolerable violence that accompanies it.”

Israel’s and Britain’s foreign ministers have been squabbling about this issue in recent weeks, with Israel threatening retaliation if the U.K. imposes measures against Judea and Samaria.