Israel accuses Belgium of bolstering extremism after it decides to tag West Bank products

A fresh scuffle between Belgium and Israel has ensued after the former announced that it will start labelling products made in West Bank Settlements. In what the Zionist administration said will strengthen the Palestinian independence movement, Belgian authorities said that they will start labelling products made in West Bank Settlements and even increase controls on goods coming from the region. "We expect that these goods will be labelled correctly by exporters,” officials told reporters adding that they have discovered that “it’s very difficult to confirm the exact origin of products.”

However, the move has struck a nerve with the State of Israel which stated that the “Belgian government’s decision to label products from Judea & Samaria strengthens extremists, does not help promote peace in the region, and shows Belgium as not contributing to regional stability.” On Wednesday, the country’s deputy foreign minister Idan Roll nixed a series of meetings with Belgian officials pertaining to the aforementioned measure.

Occupation of West Bank and aftermath

Following the six-day war in 1967, Israelis occupied the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights and much of the Sinai Peninsula. Subsequently, the Israeli government commenced the construction of settlements in disputed areas in the West Bank. However, Palestinians objected to it and since then both the communities have been trading barbs over the occupied land. 

West Bank, which also includes the occupied conflict-hit city of East Jerusalem, houses over one lakh Israeli settlers. Meanwhile, roughly two to three million Palestinians live in the disputed territory under limited self-governance and Israeli rule, according to BBC. On Sunday, Construction and Housing Minister Ze’ev Elkin said that expansion of houses in West Bank is a necessary and very important part of the Zionist enterprise.” 

In the latest development, the Israeli administration gave a green light to the construction of more than 1,300 homes in its West Bank settlements in a move that comes as discussions on the proposed two-state solution continue to be in limbo. The Construction and House Ministry published tenders for the proposed homes in the area of Judea and Samaria. As per Israeli law, the publication tenders is mandatory even after receiving “final validation” by the Defence Ministry. 

Image: AP