Call for ban on Israeli settlement goods

Europe is a prime export market for goods from Israelisettlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory despite the EUrecognising that the settlements are illegal under internationallaw, says a new report from a coalition of 22 non-governmentalorganisations including Christian Aid, the Methodist Church andQuaker Peace and Social Witness (UK).

Entitled ' TradingAway Peace: How Europe helps sustain illegal Israelisettlements', the report calls for EU governments to ban theimport of settlement products, which include fruit and vegetables,textiles, plastic furniture, cosmetics and some wines.

At the very least, the report says, EU governments should issueguidelines - which already exist in the UK and Denmark - to ensurethat all settlement products are accurately labelled as such,allowing consumers to make an informed choice.  At present,the place of origin is often disguised by the description 'Made inIsrael'.

Christian Aid Policy and Advocacy Officer William Bell says thecoalition is not calling for a ban or boycott of Israeli goods, butwants an inconsistency in the EU's approach to be addressed quicklyand effectively. 

'The EU says settlements are illegal under international law andyet member states continue to trade with them,' he said. 'Consumersare unwittingly contributing to the injustice by buying productsthat are inaccurately labelled as coming from Israel when in factthey are from settlements in the West Bank.

'Most EU Member States have failed to ensure products arecorrectly labelled, leaving consumers unaware of the products' trueorigin, contrary to the EU's own directives.

'At present, the EU imports 15 times more from the settlementsthan from Palestinians themselves. With more than four millionPalestinians and over 500,000 Israeli settlers living in theOccupied Territory this means the EU imports over 100 times moreper settler than per Palestinian.'

Trade with settlements has been on the EU agenda since May, whenEU Foreign Ministers strongly criticised 'the marked accelerationof settlement construction' and for the first time called for fullapplication of existing EU legislation regarding products fromsettlements. The EU's formal position is that 'settlements areillegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace,and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible.'

The report, with a foreword by the former EU Commissioner forExternal Relations, Hans van den Broek, is the first to compareavailable export data from Israeli settlements andPalestinians.

The Israeli government estimates the value of EU imports fromsettlements at around €230m a year, compared to €15m a year fromPalestinians.  The discrepancy is partly driven by Israel'spolicy of providing large subsidies to settlers, including forinfrastructure, business development, and agriculture whileimposing stringent restrictions on the Palestinian access tomarkets and resources.

Settlers enjoy easy access to international markets, and haveestablished modern agribusinesses and industrial zones. Incontrast, the Palestinian economy is 'severely constrained by amulti-layered system of restrictions' imposed by Israel, includingroadblocks, checkpoints and limited access to land, water, andfertilisers. As a result, Palestinian exports have fallen from overhalf of GDP in the 1980s to less than 15 per cent of GDP in recentyears, effectively invalidating the EU's preferential tradeagreement with the Palestinians.

Dr Phyllis Starkey, former British MP and Trustee of Medical Aidfor Palestinians, said:  'The EU spends hundreds of millionsof euros in aid each year to support Palestinian state building butthen undermines this assistance by trading with illegalsettlements, thus contributing to their viability andexpansion.'

Souhayr Belhassen, President of the International Federation forHuman Rights (FIDH) said: 'Goods from West Bank settlements areproduced on the back of house demolitions, land confiscations, andmilitary occupation. Governments need to move beyond rhetoricalcondemnations of settlements and at the very minimum ensureconsumers can make informed decisions about these products inshops. This is nothing but abiding by European and internationallaw.'

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For more information, to arrange interviews or to receive a copyof the report contact: Johanna Rogers on 0207 523 2460 or 07590710942

The more information of Christian Aid's work on settlementproduce and the report please follow this link:

http://www.christianaid.org.uk/whatwedo/middle-east/take-action-to-ban-israeli-settlement-produce.aspx