Israel has rejected warning by the United States that it could face a growing boycott if talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority fail. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the boycott threats by US Secretary of State John Kerry “immoral and unjust,” adding that no pressure will force him to renounce Israel’s “vital interests.” Earlier, two Israeli ministers lashed out at Kerry over his remarks made at the 50th Munich Security Conference in Germany. Speaking at the conference, Kerry warned that the boycott campaign against Israel will intensify in case of a failure in talks between Israelis and the Palestinian Authority. He also said that “Israels security” is an illusion that is bound to change if the talks fail. Israel has faced the widening boycott campaign by some European businesses over its illegal settlement activities on the occupied Palestinian land. Two of Europe’s biggest financial institutions have boycotted transactions with Israeli companies involved in the settlement construction. The European Union has also blocked all grants and funding to any Israeli entity based in the illegal settlements. The American Studies Association has also announced a decision to boycott Israeli institutions and academics over the discriminatory treatment of Palestinians. Israelis are frustrated in the face of the boycott campaign. Cabinet ministers will hold a meeting next week in an attempt to find a strategy to counter the boycotts. The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories has created a major obstacle for the efforts made to establish peace in the Middle East. More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 17:02:01 +0000