Britain goes after the 'settlements'
It's 2232 air miles from Tel Aviv to London and you would think that would be enough for the Brits to think of another place they'd rather make the centerpiece of their foreign policy. You'd be wrong.Britain has been going after Israeli products from Judea and Samaria with a vengeance, arguing that they ought not to be entitled to benefit from the duty free status from which they benefit in every other country in Europe and in the United States under free trade treaties. And Britain is about to step up its campaign.
In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Britain's envoy to the Middle East, Bill Rammell, said pressuring British companies to pull out of the Jewish settlements would be a step too far.If the 'settlements' aren't Israel, what are they? Jordan?
In addition to random inspections of Israeli goods by the British tax authority, Britain has taken the lead in trying to get the European Union to set labelling standards to make clear to consumers which products come from Israel and which come from settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Starting in early January, Britain also plans to start warning its citizens about the risks of buying property in Jewish settlements, saying they could be affected should a peace agreement be reached.
The initiatives, some of which were outlined by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a Dec. 9 letter to Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, are meant to discourage Israel from expanding Jewish settlements, deemed illegal by the international community.
"This isn't about boycotting Israel. The settlements are not Israel," Rammell said in Jerusalem after meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders and touring parts of the West Bank.
Under a 2005 agreement, products from Israel enter EU states like Britain duty-free. But Palestinians complain that many of those goods, labelled as made in Israel, actually come from West Bank settlements.Isn't it nice when everyone pays attention to you?
Rammell said the inspections were helping British authorities identify producers from the settlements, who are then denied the benefits.
"One, you would make sure that it wasn't given a tax-exemption. Two, you would tell that to the producer. And three, you would be alerted to that source for the future," he said.
/Not
Previously at Israel Matzav:
UK boycotting Jewish products
UK forces Israel to remove Qumran picture from tourism brochure
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:13 AM
6 Comments:
Yo, Carl..nitpicking time.
I would point out that in your article itself you refer to the Jewish communities in the yesha as 'the occupied territories' rather than using a term like...'Israeli towns in the West Bank' or my fave, 'Judea and Samaria( AKA the West Bank)'.
I like that one since the term 'West Bank' only makes sense from the Jordanian view point. I also frequently refer to Arafatistan as 'the Palestinian occupied areas of Judea and Samaria ( AKA the West Bank).'
The area we're talking about, as you know, was never owned by anyone, and was illegally occupied by Jordan after 1948 until 1967, when Israel reacquired it after Jordan attacked Israel in the Six Day War.
Little things like this are important because words have power, and by adopting the enemies LANGUAGE we legitimize his viewpoint, IMO..and I'm sure that's the last thing you want to do.
Watch it (LOL).
Chag Sameach,
Rob @Joshuapundit
I guess this just means I will have to order more wine to pick up the slack. My gain, Brits lost.
Of course, the immediate effect of this British policy would be to increase Palestinian unemployment. Palestinians are hamstrung by the lack of law and order in the PA so entrepreneurship providing people with jobs is brought to them to a great extent by Israeli "settlers" and the UK is doing its utmost to prevent this sort of gainful employment as well.
Don't worry. Very soon, the British will suddenly "remember" that borders of the 1949 armistice are not what was given to Israel according the 1947 Partition of Palestine resolution, and then they'll begin to boycott products made in Acre and in the Western Negev ...
I wonder whether our The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has any intentions to take counter-measures against Britain for this boykott. Oh. Forget it. I guess they don't.
Rob,
Where did I use 'occupied territories' without scare quotes?
Hutzpan,
Maybe they could boycott the airport too (it is also part of the 1949 armistice lines but not part of the 1947 partition lines).
Then Ramell could stay home in Britain.
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