9 EU nations call for ending trade with Israeli settlements

Nine European Union (EU) countries have called on the European Commission to come up with proposals on how to discontinue EU trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.

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The letter, addressed to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, was signed by foreign ministers from Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

The EU is Israel's biggest trading partner, accounting about a third of its total goods trade. Two-way goods trade between the bloc and Israel stood at 42.6 billion euros ($48.91 billion) last year, though it was unclear how much of that trade involved settlements.