That companies that import products from territories occupied by Israel to Spain indicate this on the labeling. This is what the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy, has asked of the companies involved, in accordance with what was ruled by the European Commission. Thus, as elDiario.es has learned, in an informative note, Bustinduy points out to companies that import products from territories occupied by Israel, both in Palestine and Lebanon, their obligation “to indicate this origin clearly on the labeling to comply with the consumer’s right to receive truthful information.”
In this way, products imported from territories occupied by Israel “must be labeled as coming from an ‘Israeli settlement’ and not as ‘products of Israel’,” states Consumo, which also gives the option of using expressions such as “product of the Heights.” from the Golan (Israeli settlement)” or “product of the West Bank (Israeli settlement)”.
Likewise, Bustinduy recalls that “Palestinian products that do not come from Israeli settlements must also present clear indications of their origin as ‘product of the West Bank (Palestinian product)’, ‘product of Gaza’ or ‘product of Palestine’. The objective, Bustinduy explained, is for citizens to have these indications when they go to buy “to guarantee their right to have accurate information about the origin of the products, especially given the critical situation in the Middle East.”
In this case, furthermore, people who prefer to consume Palestinian products or want to stop consuming Israeli products will have the ability to make decisions in this regard.
In this sense, Minister Bustinduy asked in an interview in elDiario.es for “a complete and formal arms embargo on Israel” and “decided measures of economic and commercial pressure on those responsible for human rights violations in the genocide in Gaza, but also in the illegal occupation of Palestine and in the apartheid regime suffered by millions of Palestinians in their homeland.”
European regulation
Consumption bases its informative note sent to entrepreneurs on the European regulation, which stipulates that “the labeling of a product must be truthful and must not mislead consumers, especially with regard to the origin of the products.”
The Bustinduy ministry recalls that this is established by the Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, of October 25, 2011, regarding food information provided to consumers.
On the other hand, Consumption refers to the interpretative note of the European Commission on the indication of the origin of goods coming from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 (2015/C 375/05), and the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, in 2019, in the Case C.363/18 Organization juive européenne and Vignoble Psagotwhich stipulates that the identification of the country of origin must be done as follows: “Since the Golan Heights and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are not part of Israeli territory, according to international law, the indication ‘product of Israel’ is considered incorrect and misleading in relation to products coming from those territories. In such cases, the expression ‘Israeli settlement’ or another equivalent must be added in parentheses. Therefore, expressions such as ‘product of the Golan Heights (Israeli settlement)’ or ‘product of the West Bank (Israeli settlement)’ could be used.
“Products from Palestine that do not originate in Israeli settlements must bear an indication that is not misleading about the geographical origin and that corresponds to international practice,” continues the CJEU, “such as the indications ‘product of the West Bank (product Palestinian)’, ‘product of Gaza’ or ‘product of Palestine’.
From the department of Bustinduy it is also pointed out the ruling of the International Court of Justice last Julywhich established that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories was illegal. In its ruling, the highest UN court issued an advisory opinion requested in December 2022 by the United Nations General Assembly on the occupied territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The president of the ICJ, Nawaf Salam, read that advisory opinion, in which the judges of the highest UN court established that Israel’s settlement policy contravenes several international norms, such as the IV Geneva Convention, and Israel’s practices in those territories they constitute de facto the “annexation” of large parts of them.
Salam also claimed that the occupation of the West Bank established “systematic discrimination and segregation, and apartheid,” due to Israel’s practices of keeping Palestinians separate from Israelis, limiting their movements, expelling them from their land and confiscating it, and demolishing their homes. Furthermore, the court was also of the view that Israel’s exploitation of Palestinian resources and limiting Palestinian access to its resources contravenes international law and Israel’s obligations as an occupying power. The ICJ has considered that Israel’s policies and practices violate the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, which includes the disposal of their lands and resources.
In this same ruling, “the highest UN court demanded an end to Israel’s presence in the occupied territories and urged all countries to take steps to prevent trade relations that would help Israel maintain that situation in the occupied territories.” , remembers Consumption.
Likewise, Consumption refers to the recognition of the State of Palestine that the Spanish Government carried out on May 28 to “communicate to economic operators the obligation to comply with Spanish and European regulations, and to assume the legal consequences for the States, in accordance with International Law, in economic and commercial relations.”
Other Bustinduy measures on the Israeli genocide in Gaza
A week ago, the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 left the meeting of the Consumer Policy Committee (CCP) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) during two interventions by members of the Israeli Government protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza, one of them the Minister of Economy.
A few weeks ago, during the United Nations General Assembly, several delegations left the plenary session while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke. The Spanish delegation, however, decided to remain in their seats listening to whoever had just given the order to invade southern Lebanon after having caused more than 43,000 deaths in their offensive on Gaza.
Minister Bustinduy has taken further action regarding the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Last May he sent letters to Spanish companies with notable economic activity in Israel to urge them to adopt the necessary measures, in accordance with International Law and the 2030 Agenda itself. “This is an initiative that seeks to find solutions to end the genocide in Palestine and is framed as another action in the political line of the Government of Spain that seeks to recognize the State of Palestine and promote its entry as a full member of the UN,” they explained in Social Rights.
The intention of the Minister of Social Rights, his department explained, was to avoid the risk that the economic activities of Spanish companies in the area could contribute to the human rights violations that the State of Israel is committing in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, against the Palestinian population.
Previously, the minister Bustinduy had met in his ministry with the Palestinian ambassador to SpainHusni Abdel Wahed, to convey the offer for Palestine to be the official guest during Spain’s participation in the High Level Political Forum, which was held at the UN headquarters in New York in July.
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