A new report by 22 aid, development and church groups from nine EU countries says products from Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem should no longer be allowed to bear a “Made in Israel” label. The U.K. already says that food from Jewish settlements cannot be labeled “Produce of Israel” but must instead be labeled “Produce of the West Bank.”
Denmark passed a similar law this year. The 22 NGO’s also said the EU imports goods worth some $300 million per year from Jewish settlements, which is 15 times what it imports from the Palestinians. The report said the EU’s trade with the settlements helps sustain them. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor sharply criticized the report, saying it “contains many inexactitudes and self-contradictions, and its bottom line is to push forward a political case.”
