(JTA) – More than half the European Union’s foreign ministers are pushing for the labeling of Israeli goods produced in Jewish settlements as “West Bank.”
Sixteen of the 28 foreign ministers wrote to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Thursday asking her to advance the process, according to Haaretz, which obtained a copy of the letter. Among the signatories are the foreign ministers of France, Britain, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Malta, Austria, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia, Hungary, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
The letter says the move is needed so that consumers are not “misled by false information.”
“European consumers must indeed have confidence in knowing the origin of goods they are purchasing,” the letter says. “Green Line Israel and Palestinian producers will benefit from this.”
Earlier this month, the SodaStream company changed the labels on some of its products to note that they were manufactured in the West Bank.
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