Millions of dollars of food grown in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank has reached Australia labelled as produce of Israel, according to a new review of trade papers.

Researchers at the rights group Global Echo examined commercial documents and official statistics and say at least five million US dollars of organic dates from settlements moved to Australia over eight years. Of 132 agricultural shipments from Israel studied between 2018 and 2026, 85 contained settlement goods. In 2025 and early 2026 the share was higher still, with most date consignments tied to settlement farms.

Sites named in the work include Netiv Hagdud, Beit Haarava, Arvot Jericho, Hamra, Tomer, Mechora and Naaran, areas Australia recognises as part of Palestine. Israeli rules generally require exports from settlements to be marked as Israeli unless the destination bans that practice. Australia has no ban on settlement imports and no rule forcing labels that show occupied origin.

Foreign minister Penny Wong has called the settlements illegal and urged Israel to rein in settler violence, while resisting a blanket import ban over worries for Australian firms. Campaigners say shoppers buying Israeli labelled dates may still be funding the settlement economy, and that unclear origin marking is a pattern also seen on routes into Europe.