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published photo, Reuters
The company has announced that it will stop selling its products in the settlements
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned Ben & Jerry’s against “tough measures” against boycotters after the ice cream company announced it would stop selling its products in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The company recognizes international law which considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal.
Bennett threatened the brand’s parent company, Unilever, that it would face legal and economic consequences as well as other consequences.
The company said in a statement Monday that selling its products in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was “incompatible with our values,” which the Palestinians hailed.
More than 600,000 Jews live in more than 140 settlements, built after Israel’s occupation of more Palestinian land during the 1967 war, including settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The international community and the United Nations consider that the territories occupied after 1967 are only the occupied Palestinian territories, which Israel rejects.
Tom Bateman of the BBC in Jerusalem says that Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is very popular in Israel because it produces ice cream with special flavors in keeping with Jewish religious occasions and Israeli national celebrations.
The company’s products were sold in stores in Israeli settlements, prompting American and human rights activists to exert increasing pressure on the company, known for its progressive positions.
After announcing its decision, the company said that “the partnership agreement between it and the distributor of its products in Israel will expire next year, and that it intends to continue selling its products in Israel, but on different terms. “.
Bennett said he spoke with the chief executive of parent company Unilever about the “clearly anti-Israel move.”
“This decision has strong consequences, including what is legal, and Israel will take firm decisions against any boycott directed against its citizens,” Bennett said.
Unilever says the decision was made by the board of directors of Ben & Jerrys and that we will remain “committed” to being in Israel.
The distributor of the company’s products in Israel said he wanted to sell the products all over the country, but was legally prevented from doing so.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid described the company’s decision to “shamefully surrender” to the current anti-Semitism, the boycott movement, which demands a full boycott of Israel, because of the way it treats people. Palestinians.
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