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Why Israeli companies are fleeing West Bank settlements

EU and UN decisions to label settlement products and identify firms doing business there are driving companies to relocate from West Bank settlements across the Green Line.
A sign bearing the logo of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is seen in its Jerusalem oral solid dosage plant (OSD) December 21, 2011. Israel-based Teva is the world's leading generic drugmaker.   REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun  (JERUSALEM - Tags: BUSINESS DRUGS SOCIETY) - RTR2VIEQ
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A Google search for the Hebrew words for "soldier," "Hebron," "shot," "wounded" and "24.3" turns up more than 110,000 results as of March 28. At almost the same moment as the chilling clip documenting the alleged execution of an injured Palestinian attacker by an Israeli soldier was making the rounds online, Israeli diplomacy and morale sustained yet another blow.

The UN Human Rights Council voted to compile a blacklist of all Israeli and international firms operating directly or indirectly in the settlements of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. This is a far more serious move than the European Union’s decision to label Israeli products made in the settlements. More than a condemnation of the settlements for violating international law and a call to avoid helping them in any way, it also warns firms and businesspeople that involvement in financial dealings with the settlements could entangle them in human rights violations.

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