Palestinians praise concrete economic pressure on Israel by Europe
Palestine-Israel-European Union, Economics, 5/20/1998

Nabil Shaath, Palestinian minister of planning and international cooperation, praised the European suggestions to revise the participation agreement with Israel, to exclude products imported from settlements in the West Bank and the Golan Heights.

"According to the international community and international public law including all relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, neither Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, nor the Israeli unilaterally annexed areas of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, are part of the State of Israel," so products produced in these areas are not eligible for preferential status under trade agreements with Israel as are products produced inside of Israel, an E.U. report said.

Shaath said today that the European Commission identified the procedures by Israel to obstruct exports of Palestinian products to Europe and European imports to Palestine.

The May 13 E.U. report said, "Israeli restrictions on the Palestinian economy inevitably lead to violations of the EU-Israel Agreement by both Israeli and Palestinian economic operators," with mislabeling of Palestinian products as made in Israel, due to Israeli "restrictions on Palestinian free trade with the rest of the world."

The E.U. expressed concerns in the report that to origin problem applys "to a substantial proportion of total exports into the E.U. of Palestinian originating products."

Israel reportedly has threatened that if the European Union boycotts goods produced in Israeli settlements in occupied areas, Israel would put an end to European efforts to be involved in the peace process. Also the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture threatened to remove previliges granted to Palestinian agricultural products.

Shaath stated that in the conference of the donor countries, countries that provide aid to Palestine, in Brussels to support the project of Bethlehem 2000, the European Union warned Israel against the result of continuing to place obstacles before the export of Palestinian products abroad. Shaath asked the donor countries to make inspections and a joint supervision to make sure that Israeli punitive practices on Palestine stop.

Previous Stories:
  Israel - EU - Palestine   (5/15/1998)
  EU denies boycott of Israeli settlers' products   (4/27/1998)
  Europe refuses to deliver Israeli settlements crops   (11/28/1997)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search