The European Citizen’s Initiative is calling for a law at a European level that will end trade with illegal settlements once and for all.

The Israeli settlement of Ma’aleh Rehavam was established in 2001 on land belonging to the Palestinian Zir and Sabah families. This is a painful memory for the farmers. Prior to that, the Zir and Sabah families lived on 90 acres of land here and grew wheat and barley. They used to store grain in caves and used cisterns for watering their crops and flocks of sheep.

“We used to come here and no-one would prevent us from coming here. In the spring and the winter, we came here because it’s warmer, so we used to live here for at least six months” the family told us.

Since the establishment of the Israeli settlement, the farmers became afraid to access the lands as a result of violent attacks and theft. The settlers used firearms and vicious dogs. The family say that one of their cousins was even killed. Following this violence and harassment, the families felt unsafe to try and access the land, and the settlers took over the land.

Please help protect families and communities living in occupied territories around the world by signing the petition below.

“We came with our sheep and we were violently attacked” says Muhammad of an attempt he and Salim made to visit the land in 2014. Salim, 61 at the time, says he was pushed to the ground by the violent settlers and threatened with a gun. They were worried for their lives.

The experience of the Sabah family is not unique. According to Trócaire partner B’Tselem there are over 600,000 Israeli settlers now living in settlements built on Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. As settlements expand, Palestinian families have their homes demolished, or are unable to access their olive groves or their farms.

Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and are a major obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The settlements are the single most important factor in shaping life in the West Bank. Their destructive impact on the human rights of Palestinians has been well documented by Trócaire partners Al Haq and PCHR amongst others, and has led the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into the situation in Palestine, on the basis that Israel’s illegal settlements are tantamount to war crimes.

Furthermore, the EU opposes annexation and considers illegal settlements in occupied territories as an obstacle to international peace and stability. But even though illegal settlements constitute a war crime, the EU allows trade with them as Trócaire has documented in the past. That trade allows for profits from annexation and contributes to the expansion of illegal settlements across the world.

The experience of the Zir and Sabah families, as well as the settlements illegality under international law is why Trócaire is supporting a European’s Citizens Initiative that seeks to end EU trade with illegal settlements in occupied territories across the world.

We are asking our supporters to sign the petition, because by doing so, Irish and EU citizens can push the European Commission to address the issue and propose a legal act that officially ends trade with settlements.

Indeed, this is what led Trocaire to campaign for the Occupied Territories Bill here in Ireland, legislation which calls for Ireland at a national level to ban trade with occupied territories around the world because of its obligations under international law. We are greatly heartened to see similar initiatives at a European level, which complement and hopefully add impetus to the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill here in Ireland.

The European Citizen’s Initiative is calling for a law at a European level that will end trade with illegal settlements once and for all. This law will apply to occupied territories anywhere, such as the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel’s illegal settlements there. The law will also send a powerful signal around the world that the EU will no longer reward territorial aggression with trade and profits.

Please help protect families and communities living in occupied territories around the world by signing the petition below.