The Netherlands’ House of Representatives deemed the EU’s top court ruling as discriminatory, ignoring their ruling to label only the Jewish products from Judea and Samaria until a similar standard is applied to all disputed territories worldwide.

By Ariel Kahana

The Dutch parliament on Tuesday passed motion bucking against a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice ordering the bloc’s 28 member-states to label Israeli goods made in Judea and Samaria settlements.

The motion, approved by a vote of 82-68, urged the Dutch government to reject the ruling unless similar standards are applied to all disputed territories worldwide, saying that singling out of Israel in this matter was discriminatory.

Israeli products in a supermarket in Europe | Screenshot: Flicker

In its ruling last week, the EJC said that EU countries must identify products made in Israeli settlements on their labels, as those must provide an “indication of that provenance” so that consumers can make “informed choices” when they shop.

The ECJ is the highest court of the European Union in matters of Union law. Its rulings are binding and cannot be appealed.

The Dutch vote, however, does not compel the government to act and is largely symbolic. But Israeli diplomats said that the resolution is expected to guide government policy to an extent.

Israeli Ambassador to the Netherlands Naor Gilon welcomed the decision and expressed hope that Dutch leaders “will adopt their own recommendation and not implement a discriminatory resolution.”

Thanks @JoelVoordewind and all the supporters of this motion. I hope that in case the Dutch government fails to persuade the EU to implement only if applicable to all territories in dispute, they will adopt their own recommendation and not implement a discriminatory resolution https://t.co/DCgC7oeukx

— Naor Gilon (@NaorGilon) November 19, 2019

An Israeli diplomatic official told Israel Hayom that Jerusalem hoped other European countries would follow the Dutch lead and question the court ruling.

View original Israel Hayom publication at:
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/11/20/dutch-parliament-bucks-against-mandatory-labeling-of-settlement-goods/

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