Britain plans to label products from colonists

Occupied Jerusalem: A diplomatic row has broken out over a British plan to label vegetables produced by Israeli colonists in the occupied West Bank as coming from illegal colonies.

At present, produce is marked only as having come from the West Bank, which could give the impression it was Palestinian.

The new labelling scheme has been proposed by Britain to put pressure on Israel to stop building colonies on occupied Palestinian land.

Consumers in supermarkets across the EU would be made aware their purchases were giving financial support to the Israeli occupation.

Israel's policy of building Jewish colonies on the occupied West Bank is illegal under international law.

The labelling plan has echoes of the system for South African fruit and vegetables during apartheid which led some British consumers to shun the produce.

Next week, the issue of vegetable labelling is expected to be raised by Israel during a visit to Tel Aviv by David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary.

The proposal first surfaced in a policy paper circulated two months ago to Britain's European Union partners on Israeli colonies in the West Bank. "Consumers should be empowered to make informed choices regarding goods from colonies," it says.

The issue of colonies, and the 200,000 Jews who make their homes there, is one of the thorniest in the stuttering Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Israel has repeatedly promised to stop developing colonies, most recently during the Middle East peace summit in Annapolis last November, when it pledged to "freeze all colony activity". The British paper noted that Israel had done the opposite.

To try to pressurise Israel into fulfilling its promise, Britain suggests various policies, including making sure that an EU tariff-free deal for Israeli products does not apply to those from the West Bank, on the grounds they do not come from sovereign Israel.

Israeli government spokesmen did not want to go on the record prior to Miliband's visit but a senior diplomat said the initiative "generates a sense of crisis in ties".