The French warning and the coordination among the five largest countries in the European Union has taken place against the backdrop of discussions that have been held in recent weeks in EU institutions in Brussels about issuing a general warning of the European Commission to businesspeople throughout the EU not to engage in economic activity in the settlements.

A week ago, Israel’s Foreign Ministry told Israeli ambassadors throughout the EU to contact the foreign ministries of the countries where they were serving and ask that that warnings against conducting financial activity in the settlements not be issued to businesspeople.

One Israeli diplomat said that the ambassadors were asked to say that at the present time, particularly in light of the kidnapping of the three teenage boys in Gush Etzion, issuing such a warning could heighten tensions between Israel and European countries and cause real damage to relations.

But the French did not grant the Israeli ambassadors’ requests. Foreign Ministry officials believe that once the European Commission issues a similar statement, the EU will be flooded with a wave of warnings against financial activity in the settlements throughout all the European countries.

“Our assessment regarding the warnings is that a decision was made [in the European Commission] to publish them very soon,” read a telegram sent from an Israeli embassy in the EU institutions in Brussels to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. “This could happen from this coming Thursday to the next several weeks. Afterward, each country will decide how and when to issue the statement.”

The new warning from the French Foreign Ministry against financial activity in the settlements is non-binding. A French person who conducts financial activity in the settlements will not be breaking the law in France. But similar cases over the past year, similar warnings have led to an increase in boycotts by members of Europe’s private sector of the settlements and of Israeli businesses that operate in the settlements.

For example, after the Dutch government issued a similar warning to its citizens alongside recommendations that products from the settlements sold in supermarkets be marked, the largest water company in The Netherlands announced that it was canceling a contract with Mekorot. At the same time, another Dutch company canceled a contract with the Jerusalem municipality to build a sewage-treatment plant over the Green Line. Also, the largest pension fund in The Netherlands announced that it was divesting from several Israeli banks that operate over the Green Line. .

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.601148

actually good for France and sadly as usual the US lags behind

sort of OT but I found this interesting too

IPMN @IPMN · 3h

NGO Monitor hacks into IPMN's private facebook group, accuses us of anti-Semitism after losing divestment vote.

https://twitter.com/IPMN

Would of been really embarrassing had they not found evidence of AntiSemitism.... No surprise that they did tho...

is it legal to hack into a private facebook page and publish the findings as NGOMonitor claims to have done?

This ain't a court room and I don't care what methodology is used to expose fucking bigoted Jew hating antisemites... Good for them for exposing the POSs

France? Wiki leaks

against an American organization for divesting from American companies, in their pdf there strangely are no screen shots just a bunch of supposed quotes with additional links some more than 10 years old to other sites that we're told back up NGOMonitors claims

their claims

their malice before...that OP posted in this group, in all CAPS, pitiful.

No screen shots, and no acceptance of the fact they have a disclaimer..just like Ma'an and
so many other publications. Yet it is only pro-settlement publications that are to be believed.

You have to laugh, it is that pathetic.


Bottom line, their message is not one inch of land will be ceded to the Palestinians...not one inch.
Who the fuck they think they're kidding is beyond me.

and occupation of the West Bank equated to Israel's very existence

horrid things..see what sticks.


Not one inch of land, that is the message they're trying to drive home.

It's these Presbyterian group antisemites he admires and it seems from their Facebook pages they have a mutual philosophy.

The few bigots who made the decision , were exposed on Facebook and praised by KKK Duke. ... Despise is correct.