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Written by Samuel Sokol
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Friday, 25 December 2009 19:00 |
Palestinian Authority Minister of Economy Hassan Abu Libdeh announced that PA Arabs spend five hundred million USD annually on goods made in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, according to the Bethlehem based Ma'an news agency.
Abu Libdeh, speaking at a meeting of the Shechem (Nablus) Chamber of Commerce, announced that following 2010, the PA would begin an embargo on goods produced in the settlements.
According to Abu Libdeh "anyone dealing with products from the settlements is harming Palestinian security." The Minister stated that the PA will "take harsh measures toward anyone dealing in settlement products."
The minister stated that despite his decision to "crack down" on settlement goods, the PA will continue to abide by the Paris Protocol. The 1994 agreement detailed the economic relations between Israel and the PA and required both parties to do their best "to avoid damage to the industry of the other side."
Basil Kan'an, chairman of the Shechem Chamber of Commerce is reported to have applauded the decision to "boycott" Israeli goods as an indication of Palestinian Authority support for local manufacture.
According to the Israel-Palestinian Chamber of Commerce, a bi-lateral trade organization composed of Israeli and Palestinian Authority businessmen, trade between Israel and the PA stood at approximately four billion USD in 2008.
The IPCC was officially launched in May and was established with help from the Peres Center for Peace.
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