Opposition, government unite against EU settlement product plans
EU is expected to publish guidelines for marking products made in Israeli settlements next week, leading Israeli politicians to launch a final campaign.
In a meeting between British Ambassador David Quarrey and Knesset Opposition Leader Isaac Herzog, the latter attempted to explain why the EU's upcoming guidelines will be harmful. Marking the products is a prize Europe will give to terrorism, Herzog said, and is a move that won't contribute at all to solving the conflict. He added that the move would economically hurt thousands of Palestinians who are employed in factories in the West Bank.
Herzog added that marking the products is a violent act by extremists who want to escalate the situation, and that the EU was falling into the trap they were setting for it.
The Foreign Ministry has launched a campaign opposing marking the products. Its main points regard the campaign as being a prize for terrorists, that it is reminiscent of past crimes such as marking Jews with yellow patches, and that marking the products will mainly hurt Palestinian workers who are employed in Israeli plants in the West Bank.
A senior European diplomat said Tuesday that the marking of products is already a done deal. He explained that it is a statement by the EU, clarifying its position against Israel's continued construction of settlements.
