New analysis of trade data reveals that millions of dollars of food grown in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank have been shipped to Australia and labeled as “produce of Israel.”
The human rights legal organization Global Echo analyzed commercial documents and official trade data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Israeli government. The findings show that at least US$5m (A$7.2m) of organic dates grown in illegal settlements across the West Bank were shipped to Australia over the past eight years.
Global Echo examined 132 agricultural shipments from Israel to Australia between August 2018 and August 2026. Of those shipments, 85—representing 64%—contained settlement products. The data indicates the proportion of settlement goods has increased in recent years; between January 2025 and August 2026, 20 of the 24 shipments of dates analyzed by Global Echo were sourced from settlements.
The settlements involved include Netiv Hagdud, Beit Haarava, Arvot Jericho, Hamra, Tomer, Mechora, and Naaran. These are occupied parts of the West Bank, which Australia recognizes as part of the state of Palestine. While Israeli law requires exports to label products from settlements as being from Israel (unless the destination country prohibits such labeling), Australia has no law banning the import of settlement goods or requiring them to be labeled as originating from occupied land.
Emily Schaeffer Omer-Man, the executive director of Global Echo, stated that Australian consumers would likely find it “startling” that settlement goods were on the market, noting they formed the majority of agricultural products labeled as imported from Israel in the analyzed shipments. She said, “This means that Australian consumers of Israeli dates and other Israeli agricultural products are quite likely contributing to the ongoing occupation and settlement of Palestinian land.”
Schaeffer-Omer-Man asserted that the mislabeling of produce is neither an accident nor an aberration, stating that agriculture has been used since the start of the settlement enterprise as a means of "large-scale land grab and creeping annexation." She noted that as European markets impose import bans, exporters may look to markets like Australia, Russia, and the US, which do not demand that settlement goods be treated differently.
Sarah Sanbar, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, described international trade as “one of the lifelines” of illegal settlements, which she said are inextricably linked to human rights abuses. Sanbar stated that settlements fragment and undermine the Palestinian economy by restricting Palestinian access to land, water, and resources. She said, “A Palestinian farmer who can no longer access his agricultural land because of settlement expansion may lose his livelihood, only to see a settlement-based agricultural business then profit off that very same land.” She characterized the resulting economic environment as "increasingly unequal by design, and a hallmark of apartheid."
In September, Foreign Minister Penny Wong told the Senate that Israel’s settlements in the West Bank are illegal and called on Israel to stop settlers from "destroying properties, displacing families and beating, torturing, sexually assaulting and killing Palestinians." However, Wong stated Australia is not pursuing a blanket import ban on settlement goods, citing concerns about "unintended consequences for Australian businesses."
A spokesperson for the foreign affairs and trade department said Australia is pursuing "further targeted measures" with international partners to deter illegal settlements and settler violence.
In September, when the UK announced a trade ban on settlement goods, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband stated that “settler terrorists” were committing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. At that time, Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Dr. Hillel Newman, told the Australian newspaper that the issue of settlements had been “blown out of proportion” and warned that it would be a “deep mistake” for Australia to follow the UK’s example.
