After its decision to label goods made in Israeli settlements as being from the occupied Palestinian territories, it must be asked what took South Africa so long. An international boycott of South Africa helped to bring down the apartheid regime in the 1980s, with Israel being one of the last countries to sign up to the campaign. Israel was one of the few countries to have strong ties with South Africa's former white-minority apartheid government while at the same time South Africa's ruling African National Congress has historically backed the Palestinian struggle. So the decision to approve the placing of occupied Palestinian territory labels on imported goods from Jewish settlements, so that buyers know their origin is not Israel, stems from a history of bad blood between two countries, one which suffered from apartheid and the other which practices it. However, to ensure that the decision is not seen as a personal feud without basis, South Africa says the move conforms to its standing policy, in line with South Africa's stance that recognizes the 1948 borders delineated by the United Nations. It does not recognize occupied territories beyond these borders as being part of Israel. Israeli anger over the decision is linked not only to the political slap administered by South Africa but to the money it stands to lose. The European Union ruled in 2009 that goods made in Israeli settlements in the West Bank would no longer be eligible for the preferential trade terms enjoyed by other Israeli producers. The EU grants a tariff exemption to imports from Israel but not to those coming from the West Bank and other territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War. Israeli trade with South Africa makes hardly a dent either way but the impact of Pretoria's decision on goods-labeling means other states could follow suit and bolster calls by Palestinians to boycott Israeli products made in the West Bank. Every neutral international body concerned has ruled that Jewish settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. Recognizing goods coming from settlements would lend legitimacy to the Israeli occupation of Palestine land and could deny Palestinians the viable state they seek and a right which is theirs. The move to label items as coming from occupied Palestinian territories and not settlements is South Africa's way of backing Palestine. Such support stems from its own history of apartheid, oppression and rights abuses. The struggle for liberation in South Africa benefited from international support and solidarity and South Africans are today giving the same support to the cause of the Palestinian people. The move is not necessarily a boycott of Israeli products but is aimed at helping South Africans who do not support Israel but who support the Palestinians, to identify the origin of the products. South Africa is concerned that consumers will be misled and is trying to make it clear that Palestinian goods are made in Palestine by Palestinians who should get the credit for what they produce. The plan to require special labels on products coming from the settlements will no longer read “Made in Israel”.
