Palestinians confiscate Israeli goods in boycott campaign

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK // Activists dumped a truckload of Israeli milk and yogurt in a main square to the cheers of supporters as Palestinians urging a boycott of Israeli products began confiscating goods in the West Bank on Tuesday.

Activists will visit shops and target products from six major Israeli food companies in the coming days, the movement’s leader Abdullah Kmail said.

“We entered the second phase of the campaign which is confiscating and damaging these goods,” he said, adding that Monday’s stunt was meant to show Palestinians that “the campaign is serious”.

A truck carrying Israeli dairy products was driven to a main square in Ramallah, as Palestinian media showed images of a white stream flowing by a cheering crowd.

Activists in the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the boycott plans last month, after Israel halted transfer of vital tax revenues to Mr Abbas’ cash-strapped Palestinian Authority.

Israel withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue after the Palestinians joined the International Criminal Court to seek war crimes charges against Israel.

Activists initially urged shop owners to remove the Israeli products from their shelves, warning they would destroy what remained.

The West Bank is an important market for Israeli exports, including an estimated US$700 million (Dh2.57bn) a year in food products. The current campaign targets the companies Tnuva, Strauss, Elite, Osem, Prigat and Jafora.

Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesman for Israel’s foreign ministry, called the campaign “counterproductive”.

“Any strategy of boycott, confiscation, hatred and rejection is absolutely counterproductive and is not conducive to an atmosphere of dialogue and negotiations,” he said.

Rinat Friedman, a spokeswoman for the Israeli dairy company Tnuva, said she was not aware of the dumping incident and declined to comment on the boycott.

* Associated Press