Israel protests to EU about possible labelling of settlement products

Israel has protested to the European Union about plans to consider the accurate labelling of products made in illegal Jewish settlements across the occupied Palestinian territories; such goods are often labelled inaccurately and misleadingly as “Made in Israel”. The EU move is being encouraged by growing campaigns for the boycott of settlement goods, especially in European countries.

According to the Jerusalem Post, a second formal Israeli protest on this issue was registered with senior officials at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv. The first protest is reported to have been made during a meeting between officials from the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the ambassadors of several European countries during the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

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Denmark was one of the first European countries to insist that goods produced in illegal settlements are not labelled as originating in Israel. That followed an earlier, similar initiative taken by the South African government.

Less than two weeks ago, a report from European ambassadors called on the EU to formulate a clear position on the banning of extremist settlers responsible for violence against Palestinians. The report urged European diplomatic missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah to increase their monitoring of what the Israeli government is doing – or not doing – with regards to such settlers.