OCCUPIED JERUSALEM,
(PIC)-- The European Commission has introduced on Wednesday a new
labeling guidelines for products produced in illegal Israeli
settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The measure requires that producers must explicitly label products that come from settlements built on land occupied by Israel if they are sold in the European Union (EU).
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a host of other Israeli leaders denounced the move as hypocritical because no similar labels were proposed for products from occupied territories elsewhere in the world.
The interpretive notice of the new measures published by the EU today said: "The European Union, in line with international law, does not recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967, namely the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and does not consider them to be part of Israel’s territory, irrespective of their legal status under domestic Israeli law. The Union has made it clear that it will not recognise any changes to pre-1967 borders, other than those agreed by the parties to the Middle East Peace Process."
The move drew an angry response from the Israeli government, with the foreign ministry issuing a statement denouncing the EU measure.
Israel summoned the European Union ambassador, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, to the foreign ministry and informed him that Israel was suspending diplomatic talks scheduled for various forums in the coming weeks.
The Israeli Army Minister Moshe Ya’alon had strongly denounced the EU decision against Israeli settlement products.
“Europe should be ashamed of itself, it took an immoral decision,” he said.
In the statement, the Israeli foreign ministry called the EU's decision "exceptional" and "discriminatory".
Writing on his Facebook page, the Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz described the measure as "disguised anti-Semitism."
Under international law, Israel is prohibited from building settlements in the occupied territories. Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem since the 1967 war.
The measure requires that producers must explicitly label products that come from settlements built on land occupied by Israel if they are sold in the European Union (EU).
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a host of other Israeli leaders denounced the move as hypocritical because no similar labels were proposed for products from occupied territories elsewhere in the world.
The interpretive notice of the new measures published by the EU today said: "The European Union, in line with international law, does not recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967, namely the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and does not consider them to be part of Israel’s territory, irrespective of their legal status under domestic Israeli law. The Union has made it clear that it will not recognise any changes to pre-1967 borders, other than those agreed by the parties to the Middle East Peace Process."
The move drew an angry response from the Israeli government, with the foreign ministry issuing a statement denouncing the EU measure.
Israel summoned the European Union ambassador, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, to the foreign ministry and informed him that Israel was suspending diplomatic talks scheduled for various forums in the coming weeks.
The Israeli Army Minister Moshe Ya’alon had strongly denounced the EU decision against Israeli settlement products.
“Europe should be ashamed of itself, it took an immoral decision,” he said.
In the statement, the Israeli foreign ministry called the EU's decision "exceptional" and "discriminatory".
Writing on his Facebook page, the Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz described the measure as "disguised anti-Semitism."
Under international law, Israel is prohibited from building settlements in the occupied territories. Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem since the 1967 war.
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