Israel condemns European Union plan to label settlement goods

It amounts to a set of guidelines for labelling products from settlements in the Palestinian territories and annexed east Jerusalem as well as the Golan Heights, all occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.

“Israel continues to expand settlement activity”. Relations with the European Union in particular have deteriorated in recent years due to disputes over the settlements. “Europe should be ashamed of itself”, he said in an English-language video clip posted on Facebook.

The commission noted that this designation “shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine”.

Most manufacturing exports from the settlements involve components or parts later assembled into finished products, making them hard to trace. More than 550,000 Jewish settlers live on occupied land.

Israel has been the target of a global boycott campaign aimed at ending its occupation, known as BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions). When the new labeling rule was favored in a September vote, he hinted at the holocaust. “We need the right policies.

But the ties between Jerusalem and Washington have grown increasingly strained, in part because of a White House belief that Netanyahu, who met with President Barack Obama Monday, isn’t prepared for substantive negotiations designed to create an independent Palestine.

Although there are 200 territorial conflicts in the world, Israel is the only country against whom the European Union has produced legislative guide-lines for such labels. This impact would be minimal compared to the 30 billion euros in annual trade between Europe and Israel. But the move is highly symbolic.

According to reports, on the morning of November 11, the European Commission in Brussels adopted a “notice on indication of origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967”.

On Tuesday, in anticipation of the move, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz called it “disguised anti-Semitism”. Officials avoided such language Wednesday, but the reactions were swift and angry nonetheless.

In a statement Wednesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the European Union has taken an “exceptional and discriminatory step” for what the ministry called “political reasons”.

But Israeli officials said the move was inspired by an worldwide boycott against Israel and comes as the country faces a “wave of terrorism” during increased Palestinian attacks. Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon called it a “shameful step that grants terror a prize”.

“We see it as damage to the sovereignty of Israel”, Roeh said.

“The European Union is not going to hurt the Israeli economy”.

The Commission says the territories comprise the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, which were captured from Syria. Israel accuses Palestinian leaders of inciting the violence.

“Labelling will at most involve $50 million in exports”.

For the former it should say, “product from West Bank (Israeli settlement)”, unless it is from the Palestinian territories, in which case it would say “product from West Bank (product from Palestine) or ‘product from West Bank (Palestinian product)”.

“The decision to label products is blatant discrimination against Israel, and Israel views it as a boycott”, said Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely.

Britain, Belgium and Denmark already differentiate between products from Israel’s internationally-recognised borders and those from the West Bank. USA lawmakers have also tried to thwart European policies that target settlement businesses. It also said that for three years, Member States had sought clarification on the issue. Netanyahu said Monday he remained committed to a two-state solution.

Earlier, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in an interview that it could be said that “this is probably an accomplished fact”, adding that Israel had to deal with the situation and its political consequences. He declined to elaborate.