In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with international lawyer Itay Epshtain about the recent decision by 12 countries, led by the UK and France and including Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, to UK, to impose sanctions on Israel, including import bans on goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The new policies may also include sanctions against companies providing services, such as construction or financing, for Israeli settlements in the West Bank, personal sanctions against individual Israeli settlers, and a new bank on certain weapons used in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. In their conversation, Peter and Itay look at how the International Court of Justice set the stage for these sanctions, how the UK and other countries will determine what sanctions to impose, and how Israeli banks and businesses are reacting to the prospect of being sanctioned.
Itay Epshtain is a Senior Humanitarian Law and Policy Consultant, serving as a Special Advisor on International Law and Humanitarian Principles to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Legal Advisor at the Center for Operational Analysis and Research (COAR). Formerly, the Policy and Protection Advisor of the NRC Palestine Office, West Bank Protection Consortium Chief of Party, International Humanitarian Law Advisor with Diakonia IHL Resource Centre, and Director of Amnesty International Israel Section.
Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNOW Political Commentator. His newest book (published 2025) is