(JTA) — The European Union does not allow the import of poultry produced in West Bank settlements, EU officials told Israel’s ministry of agriculture.
EU officials recently informed the ministry of the ban, EU sources confirmed to the news agency AFP Thursday.
The reason stated is that the union does not recognize the jurisdiction of Israeli veterinarians supervising the production of poultry and eggs in West Bank settlements because the union’s 28 members countries regard Israeli settlements beyond the Green Line, or Israel’s borders prior to the Six-Day War, as illegal, AFP reported.
News of the ban was first reported Thursday by the Israeli news site Walla.
The non-recognition of Israeli veterinarian supervision in those areas conforms with the spirit of new directives that went into effect in January, an unnamed EU representative based in Tel Aviv was quoted as telling AFP, and which prohibit commerce with firms or individuals based in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Golan Heights and parts of Jerusalem.
Israel annexed eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights — territories that came under its control after the 1967 Six Day War — and does not regard them as settlements.
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