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Ben & Jerry's Independent Board of Directors wanted to boycott Israel in its entirety, but was stopped from doing so by the ice-cream maker's CEO and the British-based parent company Unilever.

"The statement released by Ben & Jerry's regarding its operation in Israel and the Occupied Palestine Territory does not reflect the position of the Independent Board nor was it approved by the Independent Board," read a statement by Ben & Jerry's Independent Board of Directors.

Unilever has clarified that it plans to continue sales to areas of Israel within the pre-1967 lines, but would do so with a different local company.

Avi Zinger, owner of the Israeli Ben & Jerry's franchise, who always sold his ice cream on both sides of the Green Line, has for years resisted pressure by the parent company to boycott West Bank settlements.

But he ultimately has no control over the decision by Unilever, which has owned the global ice cream company since 2000.

Zinger told The Jerusalem Post he hopes the government of Israel and a persistent public campaign would sway Unilever to change its mind.

The Israeli online platform Act.IL, which was developed in June 2017 to recruit and organise a troll army of thousands of people to insert themselves in digital discussions regarding Israel-Palestine, has directed its users to wade in on the decision.

The app urged trolls to comment under relevant Facebook and Twitter posts from various news organisations, including the Daily Mail and the New York Times, criticising Ben & Jerry's.

"Comment on these posts stating that boycotting does nothing to solve the conflict, and like all pro-Israel comments you can," one alert stated, as documented by @AntiBDSApp, a Twitter account that monitors Act.IL's activities.

Act.IL was launched in partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs, whose minister has referred to it as an "iron dome of truth". It has received both funding and guidance from the Israeli state.

The app has been described as "astroturfing": organised and deceptive government-backed public relations activity that falsely creates the impression of a spontaneous grassroots campaign.

Michael Bueckert, a researcher and vice president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, who runs the @AntiBDSApp account, believes the campaign will not be effective.

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Washington shoots down Turkey's two-state solution for Cyprus, as stand-off on disputed island intensifies

Sitting on the border between Greek and Turkish-held Cyprus, Varosha has remained abandoned since Turkish forces invaded the island in 1974 to stave off a Greek Cypriot coup. Though inside Turkish territory on the island, Varosha has served as a buffer between that territory and the Greek sector of the island, which is recognized internationally as Cyprus.

However, he can expect little to no international support. A senior US diplomat told Reuters shortly afterwards that Washington opposes such a deal, and Secretary of State Tony Blinken earlier condemned Turkey's planned reopening of Varosha and called on Erdogan to reverse his decision.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this month that the EU will "never, ever" accept a two-state solution.

Varosha was once the hub of Cyprus' tourism industry, and about 17,000 Gerek Cypriots lived there before the Turkish invasion. It has since remained cordoned-off by barricades and barbed wire, and patrolled by some of the 35,000 or so Turkish troops stationed in northern Cyprus. The UN's position on Varosha is that it should fall under the control of international peacekeepers, until Cyprus can be reunited as a federation or a power sharing agreement is reached.

Though peace talks over the last two decades have occasionally shown signs of progress toward this end, relations between Greece, Turkey, and their respective allies on Cyprus have taken a nosedive in recent years, due to competing claims to the energy-rich waters around the island. Greece has repeatedly warned Turkey away from exploratory oil drilling in the area, which Ankara has ignored, while claiming its own territorial rights in the region.

"One way or another...we will carry out our oil exploration operations in the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, and all those seas," Erdogan said earlier this month, despite opposition and threats of sanctions from the EU.

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