French supermarket labels Israeli settlement products

Yediot Ahronot Hebrew newspaper revealed Friday that a French supermarket has labeled Israeli settlement products for the first time as “Made in Israeli Settlements.”

The signs were first seen at the Auchan supermarket chain in the Kremlin Bicetre suburb of Paris, the paper added.

The incident is known to the Israeli Embassy in France, who then turned to French Jewish organizations to ask the chain to take down the “offending” signs, according to the sources.

The manager of the supermarket said that it was a localized initiative to put up the sign, and that he had nothing to do with it. Nevertheless, he replaced the sign the next day to a sign which simply read “Israel.”

Israel claims that this is the French government’s “revenge” for Israel refusing to attend the upcoming Paris Peace Conference on January 15.

However, the Israeli Embassy officials said that this seems to be the initiative of a pro-Palestinian employee of the supermarket.

Last November, French authorities instituted a policy of labeling Israeli products grown or manufactured in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights as settlement products.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry sent a harsh response to the event, saying they “condemn the French government’s decision to implement the EU Commission guidelines regarding marking Israeli products originating from beyond the 1967 lines.”

Source:PNN