After being excluded from all Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, Europe looks to reset ties with Jerusalem, report says.
European Union officials were said Wednesday to be in talks with their Israeli counterparts in an effort to end a diplomatic row over the EU’s new labeling guidelines for West Bank and Golan Heights products.
The EU announced last November it was instructing member states to begin labeling products manufactured by Israeli-owned companies in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as made in those areas rather than “made in Israel.” At the same time, EU foreign ministers voted to required any future agreements signed between the EU and Israel to stipulate that they do not apply to the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights.
The decisions, especially over labeling, infuriated Israeli leaders, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charging that the moves gave the Palestinians an incentive to continue their campaign of international appeals instead of engaging in direct peace talks with Israel. In November, Netanyahu ordered that Israeli government agencies exclude the EU, a member of the peace process Quartet, from any Israeli-Palestinian engagement or negotiations efforts.
According to a report in the Haaretz daily Wednesday, the EU and Israel have launched quiet talks aimed at healing the breach.
Read more at Times of Israel
