Occupied Palestinian Territories

Lord Turnberg Excerpts

Monday 17th December 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Manzoor]

I thank my noble friend for that question. We understand the concerns of people who do not wish to purchase goods exported from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We also welcome the European Commission’s decision in November 2015 to issue indication of origin guidelines for products produced in the Israeli settlements. It is up to British retailers who stock settlement produce to voluntarily adopt the labelling policy recommended by Defra.

[Lord Turnberg (Lab)]

Is the Minister aware that some 50,000 Palestinians work for Israeli companies in the West Bank and that Israeli trade unions ensure that the Palestinians are paid at exactly the same rate as the Israelis for the same jobs and receive the same benefits? I can do no better than quote Nabil Basherat, a Palestinian who said:

“The BDS movement has threatened my job security and livelihood … and damaged the livelihoods of hundreds … of factory workers”.


Does the Minister agree that the BDS movement damages Palestinians much more than it does Israel?