Middle East Monitor / January 11, 2021
the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy slammed the sale of Israeli settlement products in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), describing it as a legalisation of settlements and a circumvention of Palestinian people’s rights.
In a statement issued yesterday, the ministry called on the Emirati companies to “retreat and stop the illegal step … that would enhance settlement activity in the Palestinian land and circumvent our rights to invest in our resources and our land.”
Earlier yesterday, Israel’s Arutz Sheva reported that the first shipments of olive oil and honey set off from the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied northern West Bank to the Emirate of Dubai.
The Israeli channel quoted the head of the Settlements Council in the occupied West Bank, Yossi Dagan, as saying that “it is a historic day for Samaria and the State of Israel”.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian ministry called on the Arab League to take the necessary measures in banning the sale of settlement products in the Arab and Islamic markets, in accordance with the summits’ decisions, which affirm that boycotting the occupation is one of the legitimate means of resisting it.
In its statement, the ministry referred to UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which affirmed that the Israeli settlements constitute a flagrant violation of international law, and consider settlements illegal entities.
“We will soon witness legal cases in international courts against companies that operate in the settlements, as well as companies that import products from Israeli settlements,” it added.
On 10 December, Dagan said on Facebook that he had signed four direct export agreements for settlement goods to be sold in the UAE.
