Special to WorldTribune.com

The European Union “should be ashamed” over its decision to label products from Jewish settlements, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Nov. 11.

The EU is only punishing “the side that is being attacked by terrorism,” Netanyahu said, adding “this will not advance peace; it will certainly not advance truth and justice.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the move an “exceptional and discriminatory step” that was made for “political reasons.”

The EU’s move to label goods from West Bank settlements is not likely to hurt Israel’s economy, experts say, though Israel is concerned it will encourage a global boycott campaign known as BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions).

A report by Israeli parliament said the BDS campaign has had zero impact on the nation’s economy. In fact, over the past nine years, Israeli exports have risen from $7.8 billion to $15.6 billion.

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz called the EU’s decision “disguised anti-Semitism.”

Netanyahu compared it to Nazi-era practices: “The labeling of products of the Jewish state by the European Union brings back dark memories,” he said during his visit to the U.S.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) hailed the EU’s move as a positive step but said it did not go far enough.

“EU labeling of settlement products is a step in the right direction but insufficient,” the PLO’s negotiations affairs department said in a tweet. “Products of a war crime must be banned not just labeled.”

PLO secretary-general Saeb Erekat called the EU’s decision a “significant move toward a total boycott of Israeli settlements, which are built illegally on occupied Palestinian lands.”

  ‘disguised anti-Semitism’, Netanyahu: EU ‘should be ashamed’ over ‘discriminatory’ labeling, West Bank settlements, WorldTribune.com, Yuval Steinitz