'Not Apartheid': Palestinians in their own land, stolen by Israel
The motion was put forward to the Reykjavik city council by Björk Vilhelmsdóttir, a councilwoman for the Social Democratic Movement. Its approval on Wednesday comes as Israel battles a motion by the European Union calling for labeling products made in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
According to Iceland Magazine, a memorandum of the act describes it as a symbolic demonstration of the city's support for Palestinian statehood, and a condemnation of Israel's "policy of apartheid."
Councilman Sóley Tómasdóttir of the Left Green Alliance, which is part of Iceland's ruling coalition, also told the magazine that the act could apply pressure on Israel to end what many European countries consider an illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. She added that the city may also apply a similar ban on products manufactured in states accused of violating human rights.
The approval of the act has received immediate condemnation from the Israeli Foreign Ministry which, in reference to Iceland's volcanic activity, released a statement saying "a volcano of hatred spews forth from the Reykjavik city council building."
"For no reason or justification, except hatred of for its own sake, calls of boycotting the state of Israel are heard. We hope someone in Iceland will come to their senses and end the one-sided blindness fielded against Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East" the statement said.
Comment: Hmm... no reason or justification. Apparently the Israeli Foreign Ministry is entirely unaware of the brutal 60-year-long Israeli occupation of Palestine that is condemned by decent people the world over for what it is: Apartheid. But fear not! The Israeli government obviously has 'friends' it can call on in Iceland to spin the truth with a few well-placed lies...(see below)
According to Times of Israel, a local Reykjavik attorney Einar Gautur Steingrímsson said the act is a violation of the Icelandic constitution.
"This is as illegal as refusing to do business with red haired people and it makes no difference whether they justify their decision with references to some alleged actions by the Israelis," he told an Icelandic news website.
Comment: In that case, when the West (including Iceland) boycotted and condemned the South African government for operating an Apartheid regime, that too was "against the Icelandic constitution". Strangely enough, no jacked-up Icelandic lawyers mentioned it at the time.
The European Jewish Council has also said that it is considering whether or not to pursue the matter legally, and sue the city council over the ban, citing violations of international law that prohibit discriminatory policies.
Comment: Good luck with that one! Israel is an apartheid regime and the whole world (at least those with an intact conscience) knows it!
The subject of goods manufactured in Israeli settlements has prompted a heated dialogue over labeling these products and banning them. Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the EU's potential labeling motion by evoking similarities to Nazi Germany.
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