Jerusalem – The EU will issue new guidelines on Nov. 11 about labeling products from settlements in the West Bank that are sold in European supermarkets, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on Monday.
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An Israeli diplomat said Israel has been informed the move could be soon.
“We believe that the guidelines, particularly at this moment, represent a bonus to Palestinian violence and refusal to negotiate and are of a blatant discriminatory nature, the guidelines encourage an atmosphere of boycott against Israel,” he said on condition of anonymity in accordance to protocol.
The official added, “We’re trying to convince the European Union and its member states that this is a mistake. It has an element of discrimination to it and does not in any way help the diplomatic process.”
A small but growing number of European businesses and pension funds have begun to drop investments or limit trade with Israeli firms involved in West Bank settlements in recent years.
The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem and the West Bank, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war from Jordan, as parts of a future independent state. Most of the international community view Israeli settlements in those areas as illegal.
Under pressure from the United States, the EU backed away from its push to publish the settlement guidelines during the nine-month negotiations period brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry that ended without any results in April 2014.
All these arab immigrants going into these eu countries will want their own country soon and will demand that these eu countries stop the occupation and give them their own country… It is in the works… Poetic justice…
They should label all products from the Middle East , because of the inferiority of Arab workmanship,
Why not label which products made in the West Bank and those made in Gaza and in Israel are made by Palestinian workers or Israeli workers.