Norway decides to “label” settlement products, and Israel responds

This evening, Saturday, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the Norwegian government’s decision to label and distinguish products manufactured in settlements.
And yesterday, Friday, the government in Oslo announced that food products that come out of the settlements in the West Bank will be labeled and not displayed as products made in Israel.
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the products in question are mainly wine, olive oil, fruits, vegetables and potatoes that are produced in the settlements, according to what was reported by the Hebrew “Walla” website.
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: “Norway’s position is that Israel is limited only to the territories that were under Israeli control before the 4th of June 1967. Norway believes that the settlements are inconsistent with international law.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Hayat responded this evening, Saturday, to the Norwegian decision, saying: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the Norwegian government’s decision to label products coming from Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria (the biblical name for the West Bank).”
The Israeli spokesman added: “The talk is about a decision that will not contribute to strengthening Israeli-Palestinian relations, and will negatively affect bilateral relations between Israel and Norway and the importance of Norway in strengthening Israeli-Palestinian relations.”
Israeli officials told Walla that Israel is in the process of formulating a series of measures in response to the Norwegian decision to interfere in the Israeli-Palestinian issue, which was unique since the Oslo Accords.
Norway chairs the Donor Countries Forum for Palestine, which meets several times a year.
Israeli officials said one of the Israeli response steps might be to end cooperation with the forum.
It is noteworthy that the Norwegian government’s decision comes in the adoption of a ruling issued by the European Court of Justice as of 2019, which states that food products originating “in the areas occupied by Israel” must be separately marked with special labels.