Israel PM Orders Suspension of Diplomatic Contacts With EU

The Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts have been suspended following European Union’s decision that requires labeling of the products made in occupied territories.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the foreign ministry to carry out “a reassessment of the involvement of EU bodies in everything that is connected to the diplomatic process with the Palestinians,” foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Until completion of the reassessment, the Prime Minister has ordered a suspension of diplomatic contacts with the EU and its representative in this matter”.

The Israeli foreign ministry also added that the move would not affect the country’s relations with individual countries in the common currency block.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the EU’s executive laid out the guidelines for labeling goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank earlier this month. Israel’s foreign ministry had warned that this would lead to Israeli questions about the bloc’s role in future peace negotiations.

“The EU should be ashamed of itself,” Netanyahu said at the time. “The EU has decided to label Israel, and we are not prepared to accept the fact that Europe is labeling the side that is being attacked by terrorism.”

Politico reported that the U.K., Belgium and Denmark already label Israeli products to differentiate the ones coming from Israel proper from those that come from the West Bank. Following the decision, all EU member countries will have to follow the same guidelines.

Israel’s foreign ministry has announced that its officials would not attend a number of scheduled EU meetings. At present, no peace talks are planned, although the White House has said a peace deal would not happen before President Barack Obama leaves office in January 2017.