Palestinians hail ban of Israeli settlement products by Oslo Municipality

Palestinians on Wednesday hailed a decision by Norway’s Oslo Municipality to ban imports of goods produced by Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, Economy Minister Khalid Al-Esseily termed the Norwegian decision as “a step in the right way” and a “commitment to the rules of international law that considers all forms of settlement building as illegitimate.”

He said the Palestinian government is cooperating with partners “to hold accountable and prosecute companies that are active in settlements."

The pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement also welcomed the ban by the Oslo Municipality.

In a statement, BDS said the ban "followed the decision of the Mayor of Barcelona [in Spain] to freeze relations with the Israeli colonial and apartheid regime."

Last February, the Municipal Council of the city of Barcelona approved a proposal submitted by left-wing parties and the city's mayor to cancel a twinning agreement with the municipality of Tel Aviv.

In June 2022, the Norwegian government announced that the label "Made in Israel" is only suitable for Israeli products coming from areas under Israeli control before June 1967, meaning an exclusion of goods produced in the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights.

Israeli and Palestinian estimates indicate that about 650,000 settlers are living in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the West Bank, including in occupied East Jerusalem.

Under international law, all Jewish settlements in occupied territories are considered illegal.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar