RAMALLAH – Two of the largest banks in northern Europe have announced they will boycott Israeli banks because they operate in occupied Palestinian territories, a report said on Sunday. The Hebrew Walla news service said that the two banks in question are the Swedish Nordea Bank, which is the largest bank in Scandinavia, and the Norwegian Danske Bank, which is the largest bank in Denmark. Israeli Foreign Ministry official admitted that “we cannot prevent this phenomenon.” The report said that the Danske Bank, which serves five million customers in Denmark and Northern Europe, published on its website a list of companies which are boycotted for legal and ethical reasons. According to the report, two weeks ago the list was updated and for the first time it includes an Israeli bank - Bank Hapoalim. The report said that the Danish bank already announced in 2010 that it was boycotting two Israeli construction firms, Africa Israel and Denya Cebus, because of their involvement in construction of Jewish homes in Palestinian territories. Walla said that is the first time that the bank announces a boycott of an Israeli bank because it has invested heavily over the Green Line and has branches in the region. The report said that the Nordea Bank has demanded that Israeli banks Leumi and Mizrahi-Tefahot immediately make public their operations in West Bank. The report cited the Foreign Ministry official as saying that “these instances highlight the danger and the problems of the European boycott. These are not decisions of the governments of Denmark and Sweden against Israel, but decisions of private, large influential companies.” “Even if we protest this decision to local governments, they have no ability to act against these companies. We predict that the boycotts will only expand further,” the official added. Europe has voiced continuous criticism over Israeli construction in occupied East Jerusalem and West Bank, and several months ago published new guidelines which boycott Israeli entities operating beyond the 1967 lines. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported recently that Germany is conditioning research support and cooperation with Israel on the exclusion of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Walla report comes on the same day that US Secretary of State John Kerry threatened Israel that a failure in the peace talks would lead to global boycotts and delegitimization of Israel. Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett responded to Kerry's threats by saying that Israel will never submit to economic threats. “I want to clarify to all those giving advice: the country has yet to be born that will give up its land because of economic threats, and we won't either,” stated Bennett, who heads the pro-settler Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) party. “Only security will bring financial stability, not a terror state next to the Ben Gurion Airport.” Another senior Israeli official accused Kerry of being biased against Israel in his efforts to secure a peace deal with the Palestinians. The anonymous official told the Israel Radio that “He is adopting a one-sided stance and isn't putting any pressure on (Palestinian President) Mahmoud Abbas.” “He grinds and pressures Israel, while Abbas hasn't moved his stance one millimeter.” This pressure, the official added, erodes Israel's negotiation position before a framework agreement has even been formulated and put forward. Kerry has paid several trips to the region this year, initially expressing confidence that a permanent peace accord, providing for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, could be wrapped up by the end of April. More recently, he has been pushing the less ambitious “framework” idea. The goal is for the framework, or series of guidelines, to address all core issues, including borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state, Palestinian refugees and conflicting claims to the holy city of Jerusalem.
