The Communist Party of Israel (CPI) welcomes the decision of the South African ministry of Trade and Industry, headed by Comrade Rob Davies (Member of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party), to ban labeling of West Bank settlement products as “Made in Israel”.
The policies pursued by the Israeli government, of expanding existing settlements and constructing new ones, especially in occupied East Jerusalem, are aimed at obstructing the possibility of achieving a viable independent Palestinian state. The construction of the settlements leads to confiscation of Palestinian lands, to limiting the freedom of movement of Palestinians, and exposes neighboring villages to violence by the settlers and soldiers.
Rob Davies (Photo: SAPA)
The Israeli government sometimes talks of “illegal settlements”, referring to those settlements that are established by Extreme-Right zealots, without official backing by the state and the army. But the truth is that all the Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal, according to International Law. This expansionist and aggressive policy must end, and the existing settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories must be all dismantled.
The CPI warns against all attempts by the Israeli government to ‘normalize’ the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, for example – by labeling their products as “Made in Israel”. A clear cut difference should be made between the sovereign State of Israel, based inside the internationally recognized Green Line (Which was the border up to June 4th 1967), and the criminal and expansionist settlements constructed beyond these borders, following the 1967 war.
The CPI reiterates its commitment to the cause of a just and stable Israeli-Palestinian peace, which is based on ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, with East Jerusalem as its capital; Dismantling all settlements and the Separation Wall, and solving the problem of Palestinian refugees, according to UN resolutions.
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South Africa to ban labeling settlement products as made in Israel
