Middle East Monitor / January 12, 2021
Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh yesterday condemned the import of Israeli settlement products by Arab states, saying he would take those who deal with settlements to international courts, Wafa news agency reported.
During a cabinet meeting, Shtayyeh said: “The import by Arab markets of olive oil and honey from the Israeli settlements is a violation not carried out by non-Arab states, which reflects that they are ignoring the enormity and criminality of the occupation.”
He added: “This reflects their indifference to the injustice inflicted on the Palestinians or not realising that these settlements and dealing with them are contrary to international law.”
“This leaves those who deal with the settlements subject to criminal and legal prosecution in international courts and we will undoubtedly prosecute these companies.”
Meanwhile, the PLO Executive Committee Member, Ahmad Majdalani, said: “We strongly condemn the first shipment of Israeli settler products to the United Arab Emirates. This shipment carries products of the settler company located in the illegal settlement of Rehelim which is being built on stolen lands belonging to the Palestinian village of Al-Sawiya.”
He added: “This dangerous and unprecedented step encourages Israel’s colonial settlement enterprise’s prosperity and undermines the right of Palestine to exist and the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”
Majdalani continued: “Importing products from illegal Israeli settlements serves the occupying power’s propaganda to normalise its illegal settlement enterprise. Thus, the failure to adhere to the rules and provisions of international law and United Nations resolutions, which is the obligation of every UN Member State, enhances Israel’s culture of impunity and encourages its annexation agenda and the forcible transfer and displacement of Palestinians.”
The first shipment from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank were exported to the UAE on Sunday, local media reported, and they included honey and olive oil.
