The Israeli parliament held a special meeting Monday on the EU’s decision to publish labelling guidance for goods produced in Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The Knesset Committee of Economic Affairs, chaired by Zionist Camp MK Eytan Kabel, heard from various politicians, as well as those working in Israel advocacy.
According to Avivit Bar Ilan, director of the department for European organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the publication of the European Union guidelines did not come as a surprise. In fact, the official claimed that the Ministry’s efforts delayed publication.
Meanwhile, the coordinator of BDS-related issues at the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, Asher Friedman, said that the Ministry had recently received 100 million NIS. “I hope we can start taking action”, he added.
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Addressing the committee, Likud MK David Bitan said Israel should fight the EU’s labelling guidance diplomatically, rather than legally. Bitan also urged “a joint struggle by the entire public” in light of the danger that ultimately, all Israeli products will be targeted.
Settler leaders also spoke to MKs, with David Alhiani, head of the settlers’ Regional Council of the Jordan Valley, stating that “things have gotten worse” since 2007.
Also read: Netanyahu: EU plan to label settlement goods ‘unjust’
Alhiani said that exports to Europe affected by the labelling guidance were worth around US $140 million, though Ohad Cohen from the Ministry of Economic Affairs put the figure at US$50 million. Alhiani claimed that “there are Israeli anarchist collaborators who base their actions on reports by Peace Now and B’Tselem, and deliver information to the Europeans.”
Speaking after the committee meeting, another senior settler official, Yesha Council director-general Shiloh Adler, told Israeli media that he had recently met with European Parliament president Martin Schulz, as part of a settler delegation.
According to Adler, EU officials were urged to “‘recognize that we [in Israel] are your buffer zone’ fighting the same struggle against radical Islam.”
The Knesset also heard from anti-BDS activist Gerald Steinberg, head of campaign group NGO Monitor. For Steinberg, “the next step” being pushed by human rights groups is the targeting of Israeli banks – “not just banks with branches across the Green Line but any bank which even provides a mortgage for a house in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.”
The government also came in for some criticism during the discussion. Zionist Camp MK Nachman Shai said that the EU “did not mean to target Israeli product but Israel’s political conduct, and the fact that Israel is not promoting the political negotiations.”
Also read: Israel suspends EU role in peace process over labelling
Joint List MK Yousef Jabareen, meanwhile, clarified that the settlements are a war crime and that if the labelling does not promote the two state solution, the next move will be a general boycott.
Thanks to Ofer Neiman for translation
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