PA bans trade in settler-made goods

The Palestinian Authority has prohibited buying and selling commodities produced by Israelis living in the occupied territories.

Acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas on Monday “issued a law banning trade in goods made in settlements,” Abbas' legal adviser Hassan al-Awri said in comments quoted by Reuters on Monday.

Tel Aviv continues to defy the international community's call for a halt to the illegal settlement construction in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967 and later annexed.

The Palestinians have made the enforcement of a permanent and complete freeze on settlement expansion in the entire occupied territories a condition for the resumption of talks with Israel.

The stalemate resulting from the Israeli intransigence was compounded by Israel's December 2008-January 2009 offensive against the Gaza Strip, which claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Palestinians.

“There is an international consensus that the settlements are illegal and therefore it is unacceptable to support them,” Abbas' aide added.

The trade ban is meant to rid Palestinian markets of goods made by settlers. It is also hoped to encourage the 27-member European Union to likewise prohibit trade with enterprises based in the settlements.

Al-Awri said violators of the restrictions would face jail terms and fines.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=124548§ionid=351020202.