Food labels in the UK will now distinguish foods that are produced from Palestine and foods that are produced from Israeli settlements.
The guidelines will change the way labels use to group the countries together naming the West Bank as the origination of goods. The government stated that it will not boycott the importation of Israeli goods, but that the current settlements are a roadblock to peace in the area.
Israel reported that the move is displeasing while Palestine welcomed the new change.
West Bank Jewish settlements are illegal according to international law although Israel disputes this fact. Now at the supermarket goods will be marked distinctly either ‘Palestinian produce’ or ‘Israeli settlement produce.’
Delegate to the UK of Palestine Manuel Hassassian stated that the country welcomes the new change to food labels and remarked that the country has pushing for the change to happen for the past two years.
He continued to say that the country has been lobbying supermarkets in the UK to make the change once they found that the stores were selling items that were from the illegal settlements.
On the other hand, statements from the Israeli embassy were less positive with remarks made that the country is disappointed in the UK and that it is one step closer to encouraging a boycott of Israeli goods.
