settlement labels

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks out at the Negev desert in Sde Boker, November 18, 2015. (Photo by Kobi Gideon / GPO)

The craziest things Netanyahu said this week

The prime minister had a busy week. We were taking notes. 1. We could destroy Al-Aqsa — if we wanted to Netanyahu dedicated a good part of the past few months to swearing up and down that Palestinians are inciting violence by suggesting that Israel, Israelis or Israeli rule threatens Islam’s third-holiest site, Haram al-Sharif…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man December 5, 2015

Solidarity activists hold a banner reading "Boycott Israel" during a protest in front of the Norwegian Parliament building, Stortinget, Oslo, March 30, 2015. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Israel targets boycotters as EU moves against settlements

On the same day the EU adopts guidelines for labeling settlement goods, the Knesset passes a preliminary reading of a bill to prevent entry to individuals who support a boycott of Israel. The European Union approved a plan Wednesday to begin labeling goods produced in West Bank settlements, raising the ire of the Israeli government, even…

By Edo Konrad November 11, 2015

Benjamin Netanyahu greets EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini in Jerusalem, May 20, 2015. (EU photo)

Israel is egging the boycott movement on

In attempting to hold off European plans to label West Bank settlement products, Israel could easily overplay its hand. The Netanyahu government’s bunker mentality will only increase international isolation. It’s pretty difficult to find a minister in the Israeli government who will go on record supporting a two-state solution in any sincere terms these days.…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man September 27, 2015

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EU High Representative Catherine Ashton (European Union / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

How will the EU elections affect Israel-Palestine?

The EU’s measures on settlements, limited as they were, remain a source of serious concern in Jerusalem. Some in the Israeli Right hope that the rise of the ‘Euro-Skeptics’ will rid Israel of the problem. The year 2013 was a turning point with regards to the European Union’s role in Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Until then, one…

By Noam Sheizaf May 28, 2014

Israeli bulldozers seen in the settlement of Halamish showing the continued building and expansion of the settlement on the lands of the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, April 19, 2013. (Photo by: Ahmad Al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

WATCH: Encouraging Europe to label Israeli settlement products

Will Israel’s largest trading partner (the EU) use its economic muscle against Israeli settlements? Some famous former officials from Israel and beyond are calling for just that. The European Union once again dragged its feet on a decision to implement the labeling of products from Israeli settlements this May, in deference to John Kerry’s latest…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man July 1, 2013

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton (European Union / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Will Europe take a leading role on Israel/Palestine?

A new position paper, which echoes previous statements by EU negotiators and leaders, urges the EU to adopt a more confrontational approach toward Jerusalem. A top European think tank is urging the European Union to take concrete measures to keep open a window for the two-state solution. The report, published two weeks ago, urges European countries to…

By Noam Sheizaf May 19, 2013