Iraq welcomes Western curbs on Israeli settlement goods

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed a decision by 12 countries to restrict trade in goods with Israel and called on other governments to take similar steps.

The ministry said on Thursday the move was a step toward international efforts to deter Israel's settlement policies, which represent “a violation of international law and of the rights of the Palestinian people.”

The measures follow a September 8 joint statement by Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, whose foreign ministers said they intended to introduce national restrictions, support European restrictions on trade in settlement goods, or were actively considering such measures. The measures target goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank rather than trade with Israel as a whole.

Israel rejected the decision, with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar calling it “a reward for terrorism,” and moved to close the British consulate in East Jerusalem in response to London's import ban.