Israel slams Norway’s decision to label products from ‘Areas Occupied by Israel’
Israel has threatened Norway with a shift in diplomatic ties after it announced it will label Israeli products coming from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the Golan Heights.
Norway stated over the weekend that “foodstuffs originating in areas occupied by Israel must be marked with the area from which the product comes, and that it comes from an Israeli settlement if that is the case. It is especially wine, olive oil, fruit, vegetables and potatoes that come from the relevant areas.”
It said it based its action on the European Court of Justice from December 2019 which stated that the Food Information Regulation in the European Union must be interpreted so that products from “areas occupied by Israel” must be labeled separately so that consumers are “not misled by a lack of labelling about the origin of the products.”
However, Norway is not a member of the European Union. The 27 member states of the EU have not taken this step. Several European countries have announced they will not abide by the ruling.
Norway “considers the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories to be contrary to international law,” it added.
In response, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Norwegian government’s decision to label products originating from Israeli localities in Judea and Samaria.
“This decision will not contribute to the advancement of Israeli-Palestinian ties and will adversely affect bilateral relations between Israel and Norway, as well as Norway’s relevance to promoting relations between Israel and the Palestinians,” the Ministry stated.
