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Belgium will mark products from the settlements;
The Deputy Foreign Minister canceled meetings in Brussels in protest
Brussels this week adopted a new policy, according to which the customs authorities will immediately start inspecting goods coming from Israel and marking products from the settlements.
At the same time, the Belgian government will begin work on a full boycott of settlement products and companies will be warned to make sure they are not involved in human rights violations in the territories.
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Belgium
Boycott of Israel
Roll Age
Lightning Ravid
Wednesday, 24 November 2021, 12:21 Updated: 12:30
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The Belgian government this week decided to start labeling products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank that are imported into the country.
Foreign Ministry officials said that following the move, it was decided to cancel all meetings planned for Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll with representatives of the government and parliament today in Brussels.
The European Commission - the executive arm of the European Union - already in 2015 instructed all member states to start marking products from the settlements.
But since then very few EU countries have implemented the directive and adopted regulations on the subject.
Israel fears that the move in Belgium will rekindle the issue in other EU countries.
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To the full article
Customs authorities will immediately begin inspecting the goods coming from Israel.
(Photo: AP)
When the Belgian government was formed a year and a half ago, the coalition agreement demanded that the left-wing parties formulate a government policy on the issue of marking products from the settlements.
Following this, a working group was established that included representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Economy and Customs.
This week, the Belgian government approved the recommendations and presented them to parliament.
The Belgian government has decided that from today any agreement between Belgium and Israel will include a territorial clause that will make it clear that the agreement is not valid in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
It was also decided that the customs authorities would immediately begin inspecting the goods coming from Israel and mark them according to the European Commission's guidelines for marking settlement products.
The Belgian government has also decided to start staff work to examine a full boycott of settlement products.
"The move does not help advance peace."
Roll (Photo: Reuven Castro)
The Brussels government decision further states that Belgium is committed to the "blacklist" of business companies operating in settlements published about three years ago by the UN Human Rights Council. According to the decision, the Belgian government will work with Belgian companies to ensure Human rights in the West Bank
Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll, who took off for a diplomatic visit to Belgium and Luxembourg, canceled his planned meetings with the Belgian Foreign Ministry and parliament following the decision. " In the Middle East, "Roll said.
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