Settlement products: an economic barrier to peace

British shoppers may unwittingly be contributing to the perpetuation of the Israel–Palestine conflict. Suzanne Ismail explains.

Lots of Friends consider themselves to be “ethical consumers”. As well as being a way of living out the testimony to integrity, for some, ethical consumerism is also a campaigning tool. The way we choose to use the pound in our pocket can send a powerful signal to retailers. However, in the case of the Israel–Palestine conflict it can be difficult for consumers to make informed choices which promote peace.

One of the biggest barriers to peace in the region is the presence of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

There are over 200 settlements and settlement outposts and in total about 450,000 settlers live in the West Bank. The Palestinian population of the West Bank amounts to around 2.4 million.

Settlements are prohibited under international law and have been denounced by the UN and numerous governments, including that of the UK, and the EU, whose position is that they are illegal.

The settlements impede peace, fragmenting Palestinian land and causing discrimination and hardship for Palestinians, often directly contributing to conflict between communities.

Under the Quartet’s “Roadmap for Peace” agreed in 2003 and then again in 2007, the Israeli government committed to halt the expansion of settlements and to dismantle “outposts” (unauthorised settlements, considered illegal under Israeli law) built since March 2001. However, its support for settlements remains strong and settler numbers have continued to grow.

But what does all of this have to do with shopping?

Many Israeli settlements have thriving businesses which sell goods to Israel and the wider world and some of these products end up on shop shelves in Britain. A report by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), found settlement goods are sold in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Somerfield, John Lewis/Waitrose and B&Q. Most of these products consist of fruit and vegetables sold under supermarkets’ own labels, but some are branded products. The income that settlements generate from these products helps to make them economically viable entities. The more economically independent the settlements are, the harder it will be to dismantle them.

As products of illegal entities, it could be argued that settlement goods shouldn’t be on sale in the UK at all. This view seems to have some support within some quarters of government; however, it is unclear whether there is sufficient political will to take the issue forward. A minority of UK retailers have made voluntary policies on this issue. The Co-operative recently announced that it would no longer source settlement products, as have Marks & Spencer.

While they remain on sale, EAPPI (the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine & Israel) and the World Council of Churches are encouraging shoppers to avoid buying settlement goods. The problem, however, is that it can often be difficult to identify these. Whilst previously many settlement goods were actually labelled as being Israeli, most supermarkets, where they know about them, now label them as produce of “West Bank”. Whilst this is an improvement, it fails to make the distinction between illegal settler goods and goods produced by legitimate Palestinian enterprises. There needs to be far more specific wording on packaging such as “settlement goods” or “illegal settlement”.

For those of us trying to ensure that “the seeds of war” are not finding their way into our shopping baskets, the task is far from straightforward. The good news is that governments, particularly our own, appear to be recognising this issue. A minority of supermarkets seem to as well. This provides a good opportunity for Friends to lobby on this issue – particularly by responding to a forthcoming government consultation – and to ask questions in the supermarket. It does not mean that change will be easy; however, we may just be pushing at an open door.

Find out more at:

www.quaker.org.uk/settlementproduce