Human rights campaign in France to boycott Israeli settlement dates and expose source deception

French human rights activist Bernard Verla criticized the legal and commercial violations accompanying the marketing of dates from Israeli settlements in French markets. Verla explained that there is a clear deliberate omission of information about the true origin of these products, which is a blatant violation of European legislation regulating the import and sale of goods from occupied territories.

The French activist affirmed that there has been an effective European law since 2015 that requires importers and producers to accurately specify the origin of dates. This law stipulates that goods must explicitly state that they originate from 'Occupied Palestinian Territories,' emphasizing that merely placing the Israeli barcode '729' is not legally sufficient to mislead consumers about the true origin.

Verla pointed out in statements to media sources that there is a significant ethical contradiction in how European markets deal with consumers, especially during religious seasons such as the month of Ramadan. He considered that exploiting these occasions to promote products that generate huge profits for the occupation directly contributes to funding ongoing crimes against Palestinians, describing this behavior as financial support for acts of genocide.

The human rights report touched upon the mechanism adopted by the occupation in producing these dates, which primarily relies on the theft of Palestinian lands and the confiscation of water resources allocated to indigenous populations. France and Britain top the list of European countries that import the most of these crops, which are seized from their rightful owners to be marketed abroad under misleading names.

For their part, activists recounted field experiences in French stores revealing the extent of deception practiced against shoppers, where packages bearing the Israeli flag are displayed without clarifying that they come from illegal settlements. Activists described these practices as attempts to specifically entice Muslim consumers to buy products that conceal serious human rights violations and international law.

Human rights campaigns issued urgent appeals to consumers to investigate the sources of goods and look for reliable alternatives such as Algerian dates and other Arab products. The campaign organizers affirmed that boycotting occupation goods is an ethical and humanitarian responsibility that precedes religious or political considerations, and aims to pressure for an end to the funding of the Israeli war machine.

In a related context, activists recalled European trade union stances supporting the Palestinian cause, including the call by the National Union of Workers in Belgium to refuse to deal with flights to Tel Aviv. The union then considered that continuing commercial and logistical cooperation with the occupation, in light of the genocide in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, constitutes implicit participation in these violations.

Buying these products represents funding for the genocide against the Palestinian people, and boycotting is a moral and humanitarian duty.