Belgium on 29 July advised retailers to clearly label the origin of products made in Israeli settlements that are in occupied territories of Palestine. The non-binding recommendation has nothing to do with escalating conflict between Israel and Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip, the Belgian Economics Ministry said, noting that Britain and Denmark already had similar labelling in place.
The labels Belgium has in mind would mainly apply to fruit and vegetables grown in Jewish settlements in the Jordan Valley of the West Bank. But they could include products such as sparkling water made by SodaStream and cosmetics by Ahava which both have production facilities in the West Bank.