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Norway bans goods, services from Israeli settlements

Norway has announced a ban on importing goods and services of companies that contribute directly or indirectly to the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, as they constitute a flagrant violation of international law.

In 2022, the Norwegian government announced that the “made in Israel” label is only allowed on products made within Israel rather than from territories conquered by Israeli forces after 4 June 1967. During the Six-Day War that began that day, Israeli forces conquered and occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights.

UN Security Council Resolution 242 mandatesthat Israel withdraw from these conquered Palestinian territories. Israel has instead sought to confiscate land from Palestinians in the occupied territories to illegally build settlements in which only Jewish Israeli citizens are allowed to live.

Oslo stated that “foodstuffs coming from Israeli-occupied areas must be labeled with the area from which the product comes and must indicate that it is from an Israeli settlement if that is its source.”

The Norwegian government indicated the ban would apply to the occupied territories in the Golan Heights and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In December last year, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which is worth some $1.3 trillion and owns some 1.3 percent of the world’s publicly traded companies, announced it was reviewing its investments in Israel and suggested it may halt them entirely due to the involvement of Israeli banks in businesses located in West Bank settlements, the Times of Israel reported.

The fund manages and invests revenue from the country’s large oil and gas reserves to benefit the government’s developmental budget.

At the time, the fund was invested in some 80 Israeli firms. It had divested numerous companies around the world for activities it viewed as unethical, including several Israeli companies from West Bank settlements.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that fund officials became further concerned about investing in such companies following the election of Israel’s new government in December. The coalition formed to bring Benjamin Netanyahu back to power as prime minister included several ministers widely viewed as holding extreme anti-Palestinian and fascist views.

Netanyahu’s government committed to annex additional Palestinian land, issuing a statement claiming that the Jewish people “have a natural right over the Land of Israel” and, therefore, “the prime minister will lead the formulation and advancement of policies within the framework of applying sovereignty in [the West Bank].”

The news from Norway followed an announcement on 25 April that the Belgian city of Liège has voted to end all ties with Israel citing its regime of “apartheid, colonization, and military occupation” against Palestinians. Liège now joins Oslo and Barcelona municipalities in ending complicity in Israel’s grave human rights violations.

https://thecradle.co/article-view/24091/norway-bans-goods-services-from-israeli-settlements