Israel slams EU move to label settlements' products

Israel on Wednesday slammed the European Union (EU)'s new guidelines for labeling products originating in Israeli settlements.

In a statement from his office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently visiting the United States, called the announcement "hypocritical," calling the move "double standard."

"The European Union's decision relates only to Israel and not to about 200 other conflicts around the world," Netanyahu said, according to the statement.

"The European Union decided to label only Israel, and we are not willing to accept the fact that Europe marks the side that is being attacked by terrorism," he said, adding that the EU "should be ashamed."

Netanyahu also said the Israeli economy is strong and can withstand the decision to mark settlement products, adding that the victims would be Palestinians working in Jewish settlements.

Earlier on Wednesday, the EU issued new guidelines for labeling products made in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the northern Golan Heights, deemed illegal by the international community.

In an official statement, the EU said it has "adopted the Interpretative Notice on indication of origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967."

Israel occupied these territories, slated to be part of a Palestinian state, in the 1967 Mideast War.

The measures will mostly apply to products like fruits and vegetables, and according to estimations, would affect less than one percent of the Israeli-EU trade cycle.

After years of debates, the European Parliament voted in September in favor of the move.

The guidelines are seen as a measure aimed at pressuring Israel to stop the expansion of the settlements and reach a deal to end the decades-long conflict with the Palestinians.

Following the announcement of the new measures, the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned the EU's ambassador in the country, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, for clarifications.

Israeli officials view the move as biased against Israel, and the Foreign Ministry called the move Tuesday "discriminatory" and "intolerable."

"Whereas the labeling guidelines are presented as purely 'technical measure' to protect European consumers, there's no doubt the main purpose is to exert political pressure upon Israel," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"It is intolerable that Israel is the only country being singled out by the EU for such a policy," the ministry added.

The EU has already applied measures against settlement products, banning them from getting customs exemptions in the past decade.

The move marks further deterioration in Israel's international standing, as the international community is frustrated over the lack of progress on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the ongoing Israeli occupation. Endit