The European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the European Union to issue labels for products imported to Europe from areas occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
The European resolution issued Sept. 10, which would distinguish between products from Israel and from the occupied territories, sparked an angry response the same day from Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which said labeling goods was “discriminatory” and “reeks of boycott,” the Times of Israel reported.
“Under the guise of a technical procedure, it’s an attempt to force a diplomatic solution instead of encouraging the Palestinians to return to negotiations,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman told the Times of Israel.
The motion to identify settlement goods, which would include products from eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, as well as from settlements in the West Bank, was approved by 424 out of 525 members.
The European Parliament motion encouraged the EU to step up its role in promoting a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. It also called on Israel to end its blockade of the Gaza Strip and said that reconstructing and rehabilitating Gaza, which was heavily damaged in the summer 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, “must be a humanitarian aid priority for the EU and the international community.” — jta