Palestine Praises EU Over Decision to Label Food From Israel-Occupied Lands

The EU decision to label foods produced in Israeli-occupied regions is a "significant move" toward a boycott of Israeli settlements considered illegal by many EU states, Palestine Liberation Organization chief Saeb Erekat said Wednesday.

GAZA (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, the European Commission approved a motion to introduce obligatory labeling on foods made in Israeli-occupied territories. Foods produced there will not be marked as "Made in Israel," but will carry a different label.

Erekat said it was a "significant move toward a total boycott of Israeli settlements, which are built illegally on occupied Palestinian lands," as quoted by The Times of Israel newspaper.

"We believe that more actions are necessary to hold Israel accountable for the crimes it continues to commit against the land and people of Palestine," Erekat said.

Much of the Israeli leadership slammed the move, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying it was hypocritical and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked claiming it was anti-Israel and anti-Jewish.

Israel seized Syria’s Golan Heights region and Palestinian territories of East Jerusalem, West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the Six-Day War in 1967.

Israel has continued to build settlements in the occupied territories, prompting condemnation from the United Nations.