The South African Department of Trade and Industry are preparing a proposal, prohibiting the labelling of products from Jewish settlement in the West Bank as Israeli.
Trade Minister Rob Davies released a statement last week saying that South African customers should not be misled by the incorrect labelling of products originating from the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Israel slammed the decision, saying such measures are not proposed about other countries where territorial conflicts exist.
“All these things are characteristic of racism,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said on Sunday.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Israel would summon the South African ambassador to protest the proposal by the government.
Ghassan Khatib, spokesman for the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, praised the South African step, saying it constituted “a genuine challenge to Israel on its continuous violation of international law and the rights of the Palestinian people.”
Palestinian lobby groups in South Africa called the decision taken by Davies as “significant,” In a joint statement released on Sunday, adding that it would “render Israeli trade with South Africa far more difficult and is a serious setback for Israeli companies wanting to do business in South Africa.”
