Ramallah: Palestinian inspectors have seized huge quantities of low quality detergents and chemicals smuggled from the Israeli industrial colony of Burqan and arrested Palestinian labourers who allegedly were involved in sticking fake labels on the goods.

Those products are claimed to have been smuggled by a known Palestinian figure and the Palestinian Customer Protection Association (PCPA) has officially demanded the Ministry of National Economy shame the man by revealing his name.

“This is the most dangerous smuggling attempt since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued his decree banning all kinds of imports from the Israeli colonies,” said Salah Haniyah, who heads PCPA, in an interview with Gulf News.

“Those detergents and domestic chemicals are of very low quality and can pose serious threats to users,” he said.

PCPA inspectors and their counterparts from the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy received a tip off about two trucks loaded with detergents and chemicals housed in the stores belonging to a key Palestinian figure. Those products were smuggled a day before Eid Al Adha and were seized on Eid.

“The stores were raided with the help of the Palestinian Police and the smuggled products were seized,” he said.

The Palestinian owner of the products spent the Eid Al Adha holiday behind bars with the Palestinian Public Prosecution rejecting all attempts to bail him out.

“The name of this Palestinian remains a secret of the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy. We have held a meeting with Dr Jawad Naji, the minister, demanding his name be revealed to both disgrace him and to create a blacklist of those who smuggle the colonies’ products into the Palestinian markets,” he said.

The Israeli industrial colony of Burqan, which accommodates thousands of Israeli factories, poses an extremely serious threat to Palestinian markets.

Haniyah claims that the Burqan-based factories offer Palestinian traders a good margin for their products

The Israeli colony of Burqan makes products with no labels, stickers or stamps, giving their Palestinian trader collaborators the chance to put whatever they desire of the stickers and labels.

“The Palestinian markets do not need any of the products of the Israeli colonies,” he said. “Substitutes of all products are available on Palestinian shelves.”

The PCPA will hold a meeting with the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy demanding tougher punishments for Palestinian traders involved in the illegal smuggling of products of Israeli colonies into the Palestinian Territories.

According to a decree issued on April 4, 2011 by President Abbas, a Palestinian trader involved in such an illegal business will serve a prison term and be fined heavily. The PCPA, however, seeks tougher punishments and a black list which gives those involved in such business transactions as guilty as the Israeli collaborators.