US Congress passes anti-BDS bill to label Palestinian goods as Israeli

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
23 Sep 2024 16:10
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The Act was passed with a 231 to 189 vote, receiving major support from pro-"Israel" members of Congress, including 16 Democrats.

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Pro-Palestinian activists demonstrate outside the Capitol in Washington, Saturday, April 20, 2024, as the House prepares to vote on approval of $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, "Israel" and other US allies. (AP)

The United States House of Representatives passed a bill classifying goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories as made in "Israel", in the latest effort to incapacitate Palestinians and their right to self-determination, the Middle East Monitor reported.

The "Anti-BDS Labeling Act" was passed in a 231 to 189 vote in US Congress on Thursday. The majority of the vote came from pro-"Israel" representatives, including 16 Democrats.

Spearheaded by Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney from New York, the bill seeks to reinstate a policy initiated during former President Donald Trump's tenure. If implemented, it would require products from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to be labeled separately instead of combined.

Instead of labeling products as from the "West Bank and Gaza", a separate classification of "West Bank" or "Gaza" would be utilized. The Middle East Monitor noted that the tactic would remove any combined identity between the Palestinian territories.

Products from the majority of the occupied West Bank would be labeled as "Product of Israel" or "Made in Israel".

This act is seen as a direct effort to hinder Palestinians' self-determination and the establishment of an independent state, while simultaneously supporting "Israel’s" ongoing illegal annexation of occupied territories. It also aims to escalate efforts against the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, pressuring individuals and companies to refrain from boycotting products made in "Israel" or illegal settlements.

More anti-BDS efforts stand out in the West

This comes in a series of efforts across the collective West to criminalize the BDS movement and support Israeli-linked products in the face of movements and protests calling for complete divestment and boycotts.

In the United Kingdom, a bill was passed forbidding public bodies from boycotting the Israeli entity and certain countries, despite abstention from Labour and the opposition of some Conservatives (who thought a bill like this would prevent action against China).

The bill, dubbed Economic Activity of Public Bodies, targets bodies such as local councils, prohibiting them from autonomously imposing sanctions on countries that are not sanctioned by the Westminster government.

The bill singles out "Israel" as being particularly worthy of protection from such economic sanctions.

The bill is claimed to keep foreign policy, especially in regards to "Israel", a matter of the UK government, to prevent BDS from influencing British foreign policy through local authorities and councils.

In Germany, a report issued by the Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser in June revealed that it was dealing with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement as a "suspected extremist case", noting that it had "links to secular Palestinian extremism."

The report claimed that the BDS is not a homogeneous association, party, or organization.

German news site Watson cited the report as saying that “there is sufficient, strong, factual evidence to suggest that [the] BDS thereby violates, among other things, the idea of international understanding” by questioning "Israel’s" existence.