Calls mount for Switzerland to stop trade with Israeli settlements

Israeli settlements in Kadim. Keystone-SDA

In an open letter, a number of prominent Israelis are calling on the Swiss government to halt trade in products from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.

They cite an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which declares Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories to be illegal.

Switzerland currently has no such import ban on goods from Israeli settlements. For certain products – food, wood products, or furs- there is a declaration requirement. If these products are imported into Switzerland from settlement areas, their exact origin must be declared. “Israel” is not permitted as a designation in this case; instead, “West Bank” or “Golan Heights,” for example, must be used. For all other products, however, such specificity is not required.

How other countries regulate this

In the European Union, a declaration requirement for products from occupied territories has been in effect since 2015. Goods from Israeli settlements must be explicitly labeled as such. Simply stating “West Bank” as the origin, for example, is not sufficient, as the product could also be of Palestinian origin.

In addition, several EU countries have imposed import bans on settlement products in recent months, including Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Other European countries are currently discussing a ban.

Lack of legal basis

Switzerland is currently unable to impose its own sanctions – such as an import ban. The Embargo Act only allows the Swiss government to adopt sanctions that have previously been decided by the United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or the EU. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) stated in response to an inquiry that no such international sanctions are currently in force. Switzerland would therefore first have to establish an appropriate legal basis in order to ban imports from the settlement areas.

It is unclear how many products from Israeli settlements actually enter Switzerland. SECO responded to an inquiry by stating that in 2025, goods worth CHF1 million ($1.25 million) were imported into Switzerland from the entire occupied Palestinian territory.

However, it is not possible to determine what proportion of these goods originated from Israeli settlements. Due to the fact that there is no requirement to specify the exact origin for many types of goods – with the exception of food, wood products, and furs – numerous products from settlement areas are likely entering Switzerland labeled simply as “Israel” -and thus do not appear in these figures at all.

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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.