Slovenia on Wednesday announced a ban on imports of goods from settlements in the West Bank, in a “symbolic measure” designed to ratchet up diplomatic pressure over the war in Gaza.

Slovenia’s government has frequently criticized Israel over the conflict, and last year moved to recognize a Palestinian state as part of efforts to end the war against Hamas in Gaza as soon as possible.

“The actions of the Israeli government… constitute serious and repeated violations of international humanitarian law,” the Slovenian government said in a statement on Wednesday.

Slovenia “cannot and must not be part of a chain that enables or overlooks” such violations, which it said includes the “construction of illegal settlements, expropriations, the forced evictions of the Palestinian population.”

The Slovenian government thus decided to “ban imports of goods originating from Israeli illegal settlements.”

Its latest move represents a “clear reaction to the Israeli government’s policy, which… undermines the possibilities for lasting peace and a two-state solution.”

“While symbolic,” the ban “is a necessary response to the ongoing humanitarian and security situation in Gaza,” Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said of the measure.

The government said it was also examining a ban on exports of goods from Slovenia “destined for (the) illegal settlements,” saying that it would then “decide on further measures.”

According to the STA news agency, citing a government statement from January, Slovenia did not import any goods from Israeli settlements in 2022 and 2024, respectively.

In 2023, imports amounted to some 2,000 euros.

Slovenia announced it would ban all weapons trade with Israel over the war in Gaza, in what it said is a first by a European Union nation.

Early in July, Slovenia was the first EU country to ban two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, from entering the country.

It declared both Israelis “persona non grata,” accusing them of inciting “extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians” with “their genocidal statements.”

In June 2024, Slovenia’s parliament passed a decree recognizing Palestinian statehood, following in the steps of Ireland, Norway, and Spain, in moves partly fueled by condemnation of Israel’s bombing of Gaza after the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre on southern Israel that sparked the war.

Also Wednesday, the ethics watchdog for Norway’s $1.9 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, said it should have considered whether a company that services Israel’s fighter jets ought to be assessed for possible divestment.

The influential fund’s holdings in Israel — nearly $2 billion of shares in 65 companies at the end of 2024 — have been under greater scrutiny since the war began, with pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists globally calling for Israel to be shunned.

The Norwegian fund has sold stakes in an Israeli energy company and a telecoms group in the last year, and its ethics council has said it is reviewing whether to recommend divesting holdings in five Israeli banks.

On Monday, Aftenposten daily said the fund had built a stake in 2023-24 in Israeli jet engine group Bet Shemesh Engines that provides services to the armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets.

Norway’s government ordered a review of the fund’s portfolio on Tuesday to ensure that Israeli companies contributing to activities in the West Bank or the war in Gaza were excluded.

It gave 15 days to the watchdog, called the Council on Ethics, and the fund’s operator, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), to report back.

The Council on Ethics said it had assessed sellers of aero engines, including Bet Shemesh, some time ago, in relation to a guideline about companies selling weapons to states that use them in violation of conflict norms.

The firm’s activities were assessed not to be within that scope, Aslak Skancke, chief adviser to the council, told Reuters. However, maintenance probably should have been considered, he added.

Bet Shemesh did not reply to a request for comment.

The watchdog investigates whether companies the fund invests in break ethical guidelines set by parliament and makes recommendations. But the final say lies with the board of the Norwegian central bank, which operates the fund.

Separately on Wednesday, Norway’s Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg called in fund chief Nicolai Tangen, Central Bank Chief Governor Ida Wolden Bache, and Council on Ethics chief Svein Richard Brandtzaeg, to a meeting about the review.

“During the meeting, the finance minister underlined the seriousness of the case as well as its significance and that the review must happen as soon as possible,” the finance ministry said.

NBIM declined to comment, citing the impending review.

Tangen told public broadcaster NRK that Bet Shemesh had not been on any list of companies, established by non-government organizations or other bodies, recommended for divestments.

The fund held a 2.09% stake in the company at the end of 2024, the latest fund data available, worth $15 million.

That was up from $3.6 million at the end of 2023, the year it began investing in Bet Shemesh.

The fund’s investments in Israel are managed partly internally and partly by external management companies, the fund told Reuters, declining to give further details.

Norway’s parliament in June rejected a proposal for the sovereign wealth fund to divest from all companies with activities in the West Bank.

The fund owns 1.5% of the world’s listed shares across 8,800 companies.

The nearly two-year Israeli offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, in figures that have not been verified and do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. There are also an increasing number of reports on a looming famine in Gaza.

The devastating war came after Hamas-led terrorists killed more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages to Gaza during their massacre on October 7, 2023. More than 450 Israeli soldiers have subsequently been killed fighting in the Strip.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.