Israeli PM vows to ‘act aggressively’ against Ben & Jerry ban

JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Unilever chief on Tuesday that Israel would “act aggressively” against Ben & Jerry’s following the branch’s decision to stop selling its ice cream in the occupied West Bank and contested in East Jerusalem.

British consumer goods conglomerate Unilever acquired the Vermont-based ice cream company in 2000. Ben & Jerry’s said in a statement Monday that it informed its long-time licensee – responsible for manufacturing and distribution of ice cream in Israel – that it would not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of 2022.

Bennett’s office said in a statement it had spoken to Unilever CEO Alan Jope about what he called Ben & Jerry’s “clearly anti-Israel move”, adding that this decision would have “serious consequences, legal and otherwise, and that it would act aggressively against all boycott actions directed against its citizens.

The ad was one of the most high-profile corporate reprimands against Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in the Middle East War in 1967. Most of the international community views these settlements. illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.

About 700,000 Israelis now live in settlements, around 500,000 in the occupied West Bank and 200,000 in East Jerusalem. Israel views all of Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians seek it as the capital of a future state.

Ben & Jerry’s said its announcement that the sale of its ice cream in territories the Palestinians seek for an independent state was “incompatible with our values.”

Israel’s foreign ministry criticized the decision on Monday as “a surrender to continued and aggressive pressure from extreme anti-Israel groups” and said the company was cooperating with “economic terrorism.”

Avi Zinger, CEO of Ben & Jerry’s Israel, told public broadcaster Kan on Tuesday that the parent company had long pressured him to stop distribution in the Israeli-occupied territories, but he refused because it would violate the law. Israeli.

He called Ben & Jerry’s decision not to extend his license as the “greatest achievement” of the BDS movement which advocates boycott, divestment and sanctions from Israeli institutions and companies in what he says is a non-violent campaign against Israeli abuses against Palestinians.