JERUSALEM: Israel runs the risk of European economic boycott if it fails to advance peace talks with the Palestinians, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni warned yesterday.
“You cannot deal only with economic issues and ignore the political issue and the importance of a two-state solution,” she told delegates at a conference in Eilat.
“Europe is boycotting products. And, true, it is starting with the settlements but their problem is with Israel, which is perceived as a colonial state, so it won’t only stop with the settlements, but will (reach) Israel as a whole,” she warned.
Livni was referring to plans by the European Union to start separately labelling products from Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories which are currently labelled as “made in Israel”.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, are viewed as illegal under international law, and goods produced there are not eligible for the same preferential tariffs enjoyed by Israeli exports to the EU. AFP
