MK Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan (Bayit Yehudi) had strong criticism Wednesday for a European Union report that recommended a boycott targeting Israelis living in Judea and Samaria. The EU also condemned construction in majority-Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
“We are again witness to blatant interference in internal Israeli policy, in such a way as to give one-sided support to the Palestinians,” he said. EU consuls should be reminded that the British Mandate has been over for some time, he added.
In the report, the EU suggests its 27 member states “prevent, discourage and raise awareness about problematic implications of financial transactions, including foreign direct investments from within the EU in support of settlement activities, infrastructure and services.”
The recommendation followed an internal report which alleged that Israel had used construction in eastern Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria to prevent the possibility of a two-state solution.
The report also called for tighter oversight on EU-Israel cooperation regarding technology and research, to ensure that such activities are not benefitting Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.
“This report is intended to further delegitimize Israel in the world community, and in Europe in particular,” Ben-Dahan accused.
“It is outrageous that an official report of the European consulates would call important archaeological findings discovered in the land of Israel a ‘historic narrative’ that deliberately ignores other religions,” he continued. “The Europeans need to be reminded that we are the most ancient people on earth, and they cannot erase the findings in the land of Israel that confirm this.”
“The State of Israel allows the European Union to build projects in Area C for the sake of the Palestinians, on a scale of millions of euros,” he noted. “If this is the treatment that the State of Israel gets in return, I recommend that we reconsider that permission.”
Area C is the term used for the regions of Judea and Samaria that were put under Israeli control in past agreements with the Palestinian Authority.
Ben-Dahan concluded with a call to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu “not to be discouraged by the consuls’ talk, and to continue building Jerusalem.”
Source material can be found at this site.