- Title: Land of wine and honey? Israeli settlers export to UAE, to Palestinian chagrin
- Date: 14th January 2021
- Summary: REHELIM SETTLEMENT, WEST BANK (JANUARY 12, 2021) (REUTERS) PRODUCTS OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENT ON DISPLAY VARIOUS OF OLIVE OIL ON DISPLAY VARIOUS OF VINEYARD PALESTINIAN VILLAGE AS SEEN FROM ISRAELI SETTLEMENT YASOUF, WEST BANK (JANUARY 13, 2021) (REUTERS) OLIVE GROVE PALESTINIAN VILLAGE OF YASOUF OLIVE GROVE YASOUF, WEST BANK (JANUARY 12, 2021) (REUTERS) BEES AT BEE FARM PALESTINIAN OLIVE AND BEE FARMER, NIZAM ABDUL RAZZAQ, 57, AT HIS LAND BEES AT FARM (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN OLIVE AND BEE FARMER, NIZAM ABDUL RAZZAQ, 57, SAYING: "It breaks your heart to see your Muslim brothers (in the UAE) support your enemy at your expense, this is not logic and it is not what God wants." VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN FARMER ALI YASSIN, 70, AT HIS OLIVE GROVE, CHECKING HIS OLIVE TREES VARIOUS OF NEARBY ISRAELI SETTLEMENT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN FARMER ALI YASSIN, 70, SAYING: "They (people in the UAE) must know, all the countries in the world agreed in the United Nations to boycott the products of the settlements and the UAE knows that the settlements are on Palestinian lands. They are not an exception in the world, all the foreign countries know that, what about them the Arab countries that are our brothers?" DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VEGETABLES AND FRUITS SHAPING ISRAELI AND UAE FLAGS IN SUPERMARKET DISPLAY VARIOUS OF ISRAELI PRODUCTS ON DISPLAY DATES FROM ISRAELI ON DISPLAY
- Embargoed: 28th January 2021 11:24
- Keywords: Dubai Israel Palestinians UAE olive oil olive trees products settlement settlers wine
- Location: REHELIM SETTLEMENT, YASOUF AND JERICHO, WEST BANK/JERUSALEM/ DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES / WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: REHELIM SETTLEMENT, YASOUF AND JERICHO, WEST BANK/JERUSALEM/ DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES / WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East
- Reuters ID: LVA003DV6EP1J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Wine produced in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank and labelled "from the land of Israel" will soon be available for sale in the United Arab Emirates, settler business leaders said.
Palestinians have condemned the export deal, saying settlements are illegal under international law, a view shared by many countries but disputed by Israel.
After forging official relations with the UAE last year under a U.S.-brokered deal that enraged Palestinians, bottles from Tura Winery in the Rehelim settlement are now in stock in the UAE, an alcohol retailer there said, although they did not appear to be on shelves yet.
The winery owner, Vered Ben-Sa'adon, told Reuters the exports showed that new Israel-UAE ties also extended to settlements, on West Bank land captured in a 1967 war and that Palestinians seek for a state.
"It's very exciting for (people in the UAE) to feel the peace process, to be a part of it. When you sit in a hotel in Abu Dhabi, and drink a glass of Tura, it's to be a part of history," said 44-year-old Ben-Sa'adon, 44.
Tura, which also produces and has sent olive oil to the UAE, places labels on its wine bottles that include the line: "WINE FROM THE LAND OF ISRAEL".
Tura said the term referred to an area that includes Israel and the West Bank, where settlers stake a biblical claim to land they refer to as Judea and Samaria.
But under guidelines issued by outgoing President Donald Trump's administration last year, the United States, Israel's closest ally, said its imports from settlements should be marked "Made in Israel" or "Product of Israel".
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has been critical of Israel's settlements, but has not said if he would change the Trump administration's labelling guidelines.
"It breaks your heart to see your Muslim brothers (in the UAE) support your enemy at your expense," said Nizam Abdul Razzaq, 57, a Palestinian olive and bee farmer in Yasouf, a village two km (1.2 miles) from Rehelim.
Israel disputes that its settlements are illegal, citing biblical, historical and political connections to the land, as well as security needs. Around 440,000 settlers live in the West Bank among some 3 million Palestinians.
(Production: Rami Amichay, Ismael Khader, Adel Abu Nemeh, Abdelhaid Ramahi, Ammar Awad, Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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