The European Union’s top court ruled that member countries will no longer be able to put a generic “Made in Israel” tag on products produced in settlements such as the West Bank.
In a Tuesday ruling likely to exacerbate tensions between the EU and Israel, the European Court of Justice said products produced in settlements must be identified as such.
“Foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the State of Israel must bear the indication of their territory of origin, accompanied, where those foodstuffs come from an Israeli settlement within that territory, by the indication of that provenance,” the court said in a press release.
A spokeswoman with the EU Embassy in Ramat Gan told the Times of Israel that despite the change, the EU rejects “any form of boycott or sanctions against Israel.”
Brooke Goldstein, head of the Lawfare Project, blasted the decision and said it would “codify religious discrimination into law.”
“There is no reason for products produced by Muslims and Jews in the same geographic place to be labelled differently,” Goldstein said. “In fact, treating people differently because of their religion is the definition of bigotry and we know what happens when Europe goes down that track.”
Palestinian groups welcomed the ruling. Palestine Liberation Organization official Saeb Erekat said in a statement that the EU should go a step further and ban the products from international markets.
Israeli Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the court’s decision gave support to terrorists in Gaza who have recently been firing rockets at civilian areas in southern Israel.
“On the same day that Israel’s enemies remind of us their aspiration to destroy us, and of the results of escaping from terrorism and relinquishing control over territory, the European court is positioning itself by their side,” he said.
Tuesday’s decision is expected to impact about 1% of imports from Israel or about $16.5 billion per year.
