Food grown in illegal West Bank settlements being sold in Australia as ‘produce of Israel’

A human rights organisation has uncovered that millions of dollars of organic dates, grown in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, have been shipped to Australia and marketed as "produce of Israel." Global Echo, a legal organisation, examined trade data and found that 85 out of 132 shipments, or 64%, over an eight-year span contained settlement products.

The analysis covered shipments from August 2018 to August 2026. In the most recent six months, 20 out of 24 shipments of dates to Australia were traced back to settlements.

Israel's settlements in the West Bank, including Netiv Hagdud, Beit Haarava, Arvot Jericho, Hamra, Tomer, Mechora, and Naaran, are deemed illegal under international law. These settlements, located on occupied Palestinian territory, are recognized by Australia as part of the state of Palestine. Despite no Australian laws prohibiting such imports or labelling, Global Echo's executive director, Emily Schaeffer Omer-Man, expressed concern that Australian consumers may be unwittingly supporting the ongoing occupation and settlement of Palestinian land by purchasing these goods.

Australia's foreign minister, Penny Wong, acknowledged Israel's settlements in the West Bank were illegal and called on Israel to halt the destruction of properties and the mistreatment of Palestinians. However, she stated that Australia was not pursuing a blanket ban on settlement goods imports, a move already implemented by countries like the UK, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

The practice of mislabeling goods from occupied territories is not isolated, according to Global Echo. In June, the organisation released a report titled "Importing Occupation," revealing that Israeli exporters had been concealing the origin of produce grown in occupied Palestine to qualify for tax breaks and support the settler economy.

Omer-Man emphasized that agriculture has been utilized by the settlements as a means of large-scale land theft and annexation, a strategy confirmed by Israeli government officials over the decades.

Sarah Sanbar, a Human Rights Watch researcher focusing on Israel and Palestine, highlighted that international trade serves as a lifeline for illegal settlements, which are not merely residential communities but inherently illegal and deeply connected to human rights violations. These settlements encroach upon Palestinian land, restrict access to resources like water, limit movement, and stifle development. The result is an increasingly unequal economic system that mirrors apartheid practices.

While the Australian foreign affairs and trade department announced further targeted measures to combat illegal settlements and settler violence, the Israeli embassy in Canberra declined to comment. The UK recently imposed a trade ban on goods from settlements, citing "settler terrorism" and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. However, Israel's ambassador to Australia dismissed the issue as overblown, arguing against the adoption of similar measures.