Ice Cream Maker Ben & Jerry's To Halt Sales In Occupied Palestinian Territories

Popular American ice cream maker Ben and Jerry's has said it will stop sales in Palestinian territories occupied by Israel.

"We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry's ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners," the Vermont-based ice cream company said in a statement on Monday.

The West Bank and East Jerusalem are both considered occupied territories under international law and all Jewish settlement activity there is illegal.

A UN special rapporteur has also declared that Israeli settlements "amount to a war crime."

"We have a longstanding partnership with our licensee, who manufactures Ben & Jerry's ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region. We have been working to change this, and so we have informed our licensee that we will not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year," the company said.

The move by Ben and Jerry's has been welcomed by Palestinians.

"This decision is just and moral. The Occupied Palestinian Territories are not a part of Israel – and stopping sales in them will help put pressure for the end of the occupation. Hopefully B&J are not the last to take this step," tweeted Aida Touma-Suleiman, a Palestinian politician and a member of the Knesset since 2015.

The Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) movement, which has long sought to end international support for Israel, hailed decision "as a decisive step towards ending the company's complicity in Israel's occupation and violations of Palestinian rights."

"We warmly welcome their decision but call on Ben & Jerry's to end all operations in apartheid Israel," the movement said. -