Norway to label products from Israeli settlements

By: 3 years ago

This picture taken on May 10, 2022 shows a view of construction work in the Jewish settlement of Givat Zeev, between Jerusalem and Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.AFP

OSLO鈥擨srael on Saturday condemned Norway鈥檚 decision to label products from Israeli settlements with their place of origin.

A statement from Israel鈥檚 foreign ministry said the position 鈥渨ill adversely affect bilateral relations between Israel and Norway, as well as Norway鈥檚 relevance to promoting relations between Israel and the Palestinians鈥�.

The ministry was referring to Norway鈥檚 longstanding role as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Norway鈥檚 social democrat government announced its new policy on Friday, saying it was not enough to label products coming from the occupied territories as Israeli.

The measure mainly concerns imports of wine, olive oil, fruits and vegetables, and will apply to products from the occupied West Bank 鈥渋ncluding East Jerusalem鈥� and occupied areas of the Golan Heights, Oslo said.

Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt stressed in an interview with Norwegian news agency NTB that this in no way constituted a boycott of Israel.

鈥淣orway has good relations with Israel,鈥� she added. 鈥淭hat must continue.鈥�

The European Commission recommended its member states follow this practice in 2015, a decision confirmed by the European Court of Justice in 2019.

Norway said that the principle behind its decision, as set out in the 2019 ruling, is that consumers should not be deceived by misleading labelling on the origin or products.

During the Trump administration, the United States announced that goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories could be labelled Israeli.

The settlements in the occupied territories are illegal under international law, but have continued under successive Israeli governments since 1967.

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