After an extensive debate, the EU recently issued guidelines requiring products from Israel’s settlements over the Green Line to be labelled “made in settlements”. Several Israeli lawmakers promptly responded with the accusation that such labeling was “anti-semitic”.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said the move unfairly singles out Israel, describing the decision as “anti-Israel and anti-Jewish.” “European hypocrisy and hatred of Israel has crossed every line,” she said.
Netanyahu said the “EU should be ashamed”. Ironically, the same group of right-wing MKs is advocating a law requiring representatives of human rights groups to wear special badges if they receive funds from foreign state-associated organizations.
Israel’s ambassador to Washington tried to make a political point this year by using settlement products labeled “Made in Israel” in all gifts sent out by the embassy.
"This holiday season, I decided to send a gift that would also help combat the latest effort by Israel's enemies to destroy the one and only Jewish state," Ambassador Ron Dermer wrote in a letter to gift recipients.
Well the war of labels just got dialed up one more notch. It turns out the US has 20 year old rules that impact settlement products. They have not been actively enforced till this week. US customs issued a notice as a reminder to Israeli exporters.
This is not a new guideline, but rather a reissuing of one from 1995 - which is a byproduct of the Paris Agreement and the Oslo Accords - that set different customs regulations for Israel and the West Bank. Human rights groups complained to US Customs that it was not enforcing its own guidelines, so that products from the settlements are sold in the United States under label "Made in Israel".
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Per Treasury Decisions goods produced in the West Bank or Gaza Strip shall be marked as originating from ‘‘West Bank,’’ ‘‘Gaza,’’ ‘‘Gaza Strip,’’ ‘‘West Bank/Gaza,’’ ‘‘West Bank/Gaza Strip,’’ ‘‘West Bank and Gaza,’’ or ‘‘West Bank and Gaza Strip.’’ It is not acceptable to mark the aforementioned goods with the words ‘‘Israel,’’ ‘‘Made in Israel,’’ ‘‘Occupied Territories-Israel,’’ or any variation thereof. Goods that are erroneously marked as products of Israel will be subject to an enforcement action carried out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The original treasury notice from 1995 is quite clear, but it appears our elected representatives are willfully unaware of it. Several of them are leading efforts to circumvent the EU’s labeling requirements. They’ve inserted amendments into multiple US trade bills that seek to conflate “Israel controlled territories” with Israel proper:
U.S. lawmakers have also tried to thwart European policies that target settlement businesses. In May, Congress slipped an amendment into a broader trade bill instructing the U.S. Trade Representative to pressure the EU against boycotting people or businesses “in Israel or Israeli-controlled territories.” Though the trade bill was signed into law, the State Department said it would not abide by the amendment because it contradicts long-standing U.S. opposition to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The amendments are the results of lobbying by specific pro-Israel organizations and groups, others support the EU labeling requirements:
Progressive pro-Israel organizations such as J Street and Americans for Peace Now have both done extensive outreach to lawmakers in an effort to explain the difference between the EU policy and the broader boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, which both groups oppose.
Resource and land use and by Israeli settlers and companies is a major issue for Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel’s discriminatory rules and restrictions towards Palestinians effectively impoverish them. In Gaza, the Israeli blockade has made the development of offshore natural gas fields impossible. In the West Bank, Israel’s “security measures” result in discrimination against Palestinian businesses with impunity. Human Rights Watch recently issued a lengthy report on the impact Israeli businesses operating in the West Bank have on the Palestinian population.
In fact, the physical footprint of Israeli business activity in the West Bank is larger than that of residential settlements. In addition to commercial centers inside of settlements, there are approximately 20 Israeli-administered industrial zones in the West Bank covering about 1,365 hectares, and Israeli settlers oversee the cultivation of 9,300 hectares of agricultural land. In comparison, the built-up area of residential settlements covers 6,000 hectares (although their municipal borders encompass a much larger area).
Israeli settlements in the West Bank violate the laws of occupation. The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from transferring its citizens into the territory it occupies and from transferring or displacing the population of an occupied territory within or outside the territory. The Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court, establishes the court’s jurisdiction over war crimes including the crimes of transfer of parts of the civilian population of an occupying power into an occupied territory, and the forcible transfer of the population of an occupied territory. The ICC has jurisdiction over crimes committed in or from the territory of the State of Palestine, now an ICC member, beginning in June 13, 2014, the date designated by Palestine in a declaration accompanying its accession.
Israel’s confiscation of land, water, and other natural resources for the benefit of settlements and residents of Israel also violate the Hague Regulations of 1907, which prohibit an occupying power from expropriating the resources of occupied territory for its own benefit. In addition, Israel’s settlement project violates international human rights law, in particular, Israel’s discriminatory policies against Palestinians that govern virtually every aspect of life in the area of the West Bank under Israel’s exclusive control, known as Area C, and that forcibly displace Palestinians while encouraging the growth of Jewish settlements.
