European Court of Justices rules in line with ethical concern of consumers to differentiate where products are grown: in Israel or in Palestine. A boost for the BDS movement.

Israeli settlement products must be labeled as such, EU's top court rules | DW |

France's top tribunal sought clarification from the ECJ after the country published guidelines in 2016 that products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights must carry labels making their precise origin clear. The guidelines were challenged by the Organisation Juive Européenne (European Jewish Organization) and Psagot, a company that runs vineyards in occupied territories.

The groups were concerned that such labeling would facilitate boycotts, such as those endorsed by the BDS movement, which Israel sees as anti-Semitic.

Palestinian Liberation Organization Secretary-General Saeb Erekat called the ruling a "legal and political obligation."

Ethical considerations

The ECJ found that simply indicating that goods originate in the state of Israel, as opposed to occupied territory, could mislead consumers about the fact that Israel "is present in the territories concerned as an occupying power and not as a sovereign entity," it said in a statement.

It said product information must allow consumers to make informed choices relating "not only to health, economic, environmental and social considerations, but also to ethical considerations," as well as the observance of international law.

The regions affected include the West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem, internationally accepted as occupied Palestinian land, and the Golan Heights, taken from Syria in 1967.

The EU does not accept these territories as belonging to Israeli territory.

○ In BDS victory, top European Court rules settlement products must be labeled | JPost |
○ Pro-Israeli group scores own goal on EU retail labels | EU Observer |

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