RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Supreme National Committee decided Feb. 9 to ban products from the Israeli companies Tnuva, Strauss, Osem, Elite, Prigat and Jafora. The products of these food companies are extremely popular among Palestinians. The ban against them, which took effect Feb. 11, is the first in a series of measures to be taken in response to Israel’s Jan. 3 decision to withhold transferring Palestinian tax revenues and thus threatening the ability of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to fulfill its financial obligations. The chairman of the committee, Mahmoud al-Aloul, told Al-Monitor that the next step will be to “expand the list of Israeli companies and products that would be banned” to put pressure on the Israeli economy, for which the West Bank and Gaza are consumer markets.
Aloul said that the committee is working with government agencies, stating, “We had a meeting with the prime minister, who placed this issue on the cabinet’s table for discussion,” and asserted that the leadership is in the process of putting more distance between itself and Israel. Although the decision of the committee — consisting of representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and parties from the private sector, unions and customs control — is not an official government decree, a source on the committee confirmed to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, adding, “Our work intersects with the various government agencies’ work.”
