![The EU Council building on July 1, 2024 in Brussels, Belgium. [Dursun Aydemir - Anadolu Agency]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AA-20240701-35022158-35022157-HUNGARY_TAKES_OVER_THE_EUROPEAN_UNION_PRESIDENCY_FOR_SIX_MONTHS.jpg)
Nine EU members have called on the European Commission to assess how trade in goods and services linked to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory can be aligned with international law, Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot announced on Thursday, Anadolu reports. Prevot said on X that the request follows the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) recent advisory opinion, which underlined that third countries must refrain from trade or investment activities that support illegal settlements. “Belgium, together with eight other EU Member States – Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden – asks the European Commission to examine how trade in goods and services linked to illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory […]