World Jewish News

Due to the current situation, no decision yet on labeling of Israeli settlements products

Due to the current situation on the ground, the EU has not yet make a decision on EU labeling products from Israeli settlements, a senior EU official said Friday.

The official said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has not made any decision yet on this issue. ‘This depends on the situation on the ground and a decision could come in the next weeks or months.’’

Recent press reports mentioned the start date of the controversial measure as the beginning of October.

In a statement issued last July, the EU said it was committed to ensure continued , full and effective implementation of existing EU legislation and bilateral agreements applicable to settlement products,’’but without specifically mentioning the labeling of these products.

European officials say that the measure are only meant to uphold EU law, which does not recognise the settlements, located beyond the Green Line, as part of Israel, and give consumers information.

In a recent resolution, the European Parliament urged Mogherini ‘’to complete the work on EU wide guidelines on the labeling of Israeli settlement produce.’’

The resolution said that the European Parliament “welcomes the EU’s commitment – in the spirit of differentiation between Israel and its activities in the occupied Palestinian Territory – to ensuring that all agreements between the EU and Israel must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967”.

Israel has reacted angrily to the EU plan to label settlement products which it views as an unfair measure that singles out the country for punishment and as amounting to a boycott of Israel.

Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said that "labeling products means a boycott of Israel and not only of the settlements, adding that ‘’from Israel's perspective, mentioning the fact that the product's original is from 'the occupied Palestinian territories' crosses a red line.’’

The EU denies the measure amounts to a boycott.

by Yossi Lempkowicz

EJP