I have long ago lost patience with Europe. This is our land east of the greenline. Settlements are legal under international law. Ted Belman
European Union ambassador’s warns of more business advisories with settlements after Spain, Italy issue such warnings.
The EU’s ambassador to Israel said on Friday that many European nations were losing patience with Jerusalem due to the continued expansion of settlements beyond the Green Line.
Lars Faaborg-Andersen warned at a seminar that more European countries would issue warnings to their citizens against conducting business with companies in Israeli settlements, Israel Radio reported.
The EU envoy’s remarks followed the business warnings issued by European powers Spain and Italy, following suit of France earlier in the week.
Spain and Italy brought to five the number of major European Union countries warning citizens against investment in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
These settlements “constitute an obstacle to peace” and the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, read a statement published on the Spanish Foreign Ministry’s website.
“The potential buyers and investors should know that a future peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, or between Israel and Syria could have consequences both for properties acquired and for economic activities promoted in said settlements,” the Spanish statement said. “In case of litigation, it could be very difficult for member states to guarantee the protection of their interests.”
EU entities considering commercial activities in what the EU considers settlements “should be aware of the potential implications for their reputation”, it added.
Stopping short of calling for such entities to refrain from investing in these areas, the statement advised them to “seek adequate legal counsel before moving ahead” with such plans.
“The statement is not intended as a call for a boycott in any way, or to limit economic cooperation between Spain and Israel within its internationally-recognized borders,” Carlos Entrena Moratiel, a ministry spokesman, told JTA.
On Tuesday, the French Foreign Ministry caution citizens against doing business in the settlements, stating that the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, Gaza and the Golan Heights, are “occupied by Israel since 1967. Settlements are illegal under international law.”
“As a result,” a statement on the ministry’s website warned, “there are risks related to economic and financial activities in Israeli settlements.
The statement said that “citizens and businesses considering economic or financial activities in the settlements are called to seek appropriate legal advice before proceeding with these activities.”
The French guidelines used very similar wording to that used by Britain when it issued a warning of its own against economic activity in the settlements last December.
The Germans and the Dutch, too, have issued similar warnings.
Herb Keinon contributed to this article.
The French Foreign Ministry needs to be alerted to the fact that it is misinformed as to its understanding of international law in re the referenced territories, and how.
Moreover, the Quai d’Orsay should KNOW that the govt of France is itself a signatory of the specific international treaties which make the territories anything BUT ‘occupied’ (let alone, ‘illegal’) in international law.
No doubt that before proceeding their citizens & businesses SHOULD “seek appropriate legal advice”
— but not from their country’s outrageously misinformed, incompetent, and disingenuous Foreign Ministry, whose shallow representatives evidently couldn’t find their backside with both hands, a flashlight, and a GPS.
Sometimes you have to have the courage to think the unthinkable. Until that mindset is there, there is no safety for Israel and for the Jewish people.
@ yamit82:
The collective equivalent of battered child syndrome.
The thought processes of the victim are strikingly similar.
@ the phoenix:
The French are filthy bastardS who who love to think they own the world. Demand from others without giving anything but trouble.
What do you expect from CHEESE EATING SURRENDER MONKEYS?
Jews are mindful and respect world opinion. The world has tried to exterminate them for two millennia, and so Jews think there must be a good reason. And so they are sorry: for being strong, simply for being. They fear world opinion and ask themselves, Will the world tolerate our injustices to the poor Palis?
France stocks close to three millions skeletons from its recent wars in Indochina and Algeria. Add French Jews shipped to Nazi death camps with enthusiastic support of the freedom-loving French people—(from Jews, that is).
Jews think it impolitic to remind the French, British,Germans, Russians and Americans of their bloody histories both past and present. More Jews were murdered by the Germans and their European helpers in one day than have Israel killed since 1947. How come the Europeans are silent about the slaughter of the Syrians by the rebels and Assad’s forces?… How many Iraqis have the Americans murdered in their two invasions? How many Afghans? How many Vietnamese?
Israel compared to them would be like comparing Israel to Mother Theresa and the Western christian nations the mongol hordes.
The world tried to exterminate the Jews by various means for two millennia. Now the moral world chooses moral means. It wants Jews to be moral. Specifically, to be suicidally moral, to turn the other cheek to Muslims who are only doing what the Christians tried for centuries—kill off the Jews. So the Muslims are obviously right, and Israel is wrong to oppose them. The politically correct christian world cannot say so much and concedes to Israel a ghetto-sized country, another maidan field where Jews should wait patiently while the firing squad gets ready. Jews should not make so much fuss about a few hundred missiles showering their ghetto or some random Israelis murdered in their beds and now her kids kidnapped and probably brutally murdered.
It’s past time for some stalwart clear thinking Jew to tell the stinking hypocritical European Bastards that all of the Land from the Jordan to the Med is ours and we intend to keep it. If they care about the rag-heads we suggest they be allowed to immigrate to Europe. What’s a few more Muslims for Europeans anyway? After all you have so many already, have a few more.
@ bernard ross:
There is only so much preaching to the choir one can do. (See my comment on the religion of retreat thread…)
Yes. The government is shitty and is concerned with maintaining itself in power and to hell with the rest.
You know that, you realize that and you eloquently point it out left right and center. I agree with you and I am sure, many Jewish Israelis do so too.
WHERE ARE THEY?
If there IS indeed a true Jewish leader, in Israel, then WHO is he?
And more importantly WHERE are his followers?
first, I note that even after leaving gaza the french still consider it legally occupied and therefore Israel having the legal obligations of occupation. therefore, Israel got the worst of both worlds, it gave up the claim but is still demonized.
Second, I note the french generic statement that “Settlements are illegal under international law.” which may technically avoid a libel charge but in the case of Israel and the French obligations under international Law and treaty to encourage jewish settlement, I would say the French have intentionally libeled the state of Israel. But does the state of Israel have anything to say about these libels……not even the foreign ministry who should be concerned about the French libels on the reputation of the state, reminiscent of Dreyfus?
Where is the PM, the President the Foreign Ministry who by their silence give credibility to the libels of the EU and French. Certainly stating that the French have libel Israel and demanded appropriate diplomatic behavior would be the least one would expect from a government.
what does it take to utter the words that the Europeans are wrong, that they are libelous and that there employment of inappropriate diplomatic relations is harmful.
Is the Israeli government, and leadership, so pathetic that they cannot even open their mouths to defend the reputation and honor of Israel against the filthy European liars????????
The same filthy europeans who swindled,libeled, tortured and slaughtered the Jews for 2000 years continues to swindle and libel the Jews today and give support to the Jew killers.
I expect this filth from the europeans but there is no excuse for the Israeli leadership.
I fail to see how an accord between Israel and pals could have consequences other than the usual economic consequences of a business coming under the governance of a failed state. Any peace accord deals with legal commercial implications.
As for future syria peace accords I would suggest going in with the saudis to fragment syria and thus destroy the state or render official old Syrian borders far from the golan.
I would be very interested in knowing specifically what litigations of property or business are detrimentally affected in european courts? As treaty members of economic agreements they are bound by certain obligations. These are not warnings but rather an attempt to sanction YS businesses in a circumspect manner. but I wonder if it is actually legal in their own courts and in international commercial courts.
On the contrary, by illegitimately labeling the settlements illegal, with no legal basis, they have slandered those commercial entities with the goal of harming their business relationships. I believe in law this would be called “interference” with a contract and 10 million was lost in such a case between penzoil and Texaco some decades ago. i wold be interested in whether these business would have a suit against the EU. After all, they would need to prove that they had no intention to damage the relationships. that their libel of illegality was accurate, etc.
Furthermore, the same commercial environment and laws which govern pal businesses in the west bank govern Jewish businesses and therefore they should be saying the same about pal businesses in area C. Those businesses could be affected in a peace accord with Israel also and yet they have not warned the world to avoid investing in those pal businesses.
In fact, all the EU investments in the west bank are in the same jeopardy they warn against only in the settlements.
I do not believe that even under the GC that individual settlers and businesses are violating any laws by doing business there. There is no other recognized entity, for Israelis or pals in area C to govern commercial interests. Any world citizen has the right to do business in area C in accordance with Israeli law and worldwide treaties. I beleive that the EU is illegally issuing these warnings in violation of international commercial law.
Unless they warn against ALL investment in the west bank they are illegally targeting private interests in violation of international commercial law. the same conditions apply to ALL pal businesses in area C.
All of these problems are the continuing result of those Israelis who argue against lawfare with the idea that if you ignore the problem it will fade away. The lack of Israeli lawfare is what allows such ludicrous actions to occur. Also, the continuing playing along with these EU games by the Israeli gov and foreign ministry encourages this behavior.
the foreign ministry should be calling in ALL EU diplomats and demanding that they cease to obstruct the Jewish settlement to which they committed in treaties. furthermore. ALL EU direst activity in the west bank should be halted as they are interfering in the internal affairs of Israel. The EU continues to insult the Jewish people through the Jewish state and the jewish leadership allows these insults to continue unaddressed. This is why the Jews have the appearance of “stealing what belongs to the arabs” BB, Rivlin and Liberman have that job and its about time they got up and repudiated ALL the libels and canards.
individual businesses should sue for damages under international commercial law.
The “warnings” are a libel with the purpose of damaging private Israeli citizens business.
Gee, I guess Israel must be doing something RIGHT to get Europe so upset. Solution 1- accelerate settlement building! Solution 2 – Only allow professionally trained spokespeople speak for Israel!.
The Jew-hating Europeans are angrier with Jews building towns in their homeland than they’re angry over the Islamic jihadist danger in the Middle East that threatens them. The Jews’ refusal to commit national suicide has them up in arms. Let Europe punish Israel. They have the most to lose now that Israel is on the verge of gaining energy independence and none too soon.