Bahrain’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism on Friday reversed the statement made just a few days earlier this week by Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani in which he said Bahrain will import goods labeled “made in Israel” that are produced in Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and other post-1967 areas.
Bahrain: Okay to Label Goods from Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem as ‘Made in Israel’
Al Zayani said during an official trade visit to Israel, “Without going into details and border lines, Israeli products or services . . . will be treated like Israeli. . . We will recognize them as Israeli products. We will treat Israel and Israeli companies like we do Italian or German or Saudi companies, for that matter,” he said. “Israelis are as welcome as any other international company in Bahrain.”
During his visit Al Zayani met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Economy Minister Amir Peretz.
But late Friday, the official BNA news agency reported the minister’s statement was not properly understood.
“The minister’s statement was misinterpreted and the ministry is committed to the Bahraini government’s unwavering stance regarding adherence to the resolutions of the United Nations,” BNA said, quoting an official source from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism.
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani provided further explanation Saturday during an appearance at a security conference in the nation’s capital, Manama.
Al-Zayani said he spoke with his counterpart from the Palestinian Authority, Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki on Friday about the issue of importing Israeli goods from Judea, Samaria and from the Golan Heights.
A statement from Maliki’s office to the Reuters news agency said, “The alleged comments … totally contradicted his country’s (Bahrain) supportive position of the Palestinian cause.” According to Reuters, the Bahraini foreign minister denied the Industry minister’s comments in his phone call with his Palestinian Authority counterpart.
That night, the Industry, Trade and Tourism Ministry issued a statement to explain the trade minister’s remarks a day earlier in Israel had been “misinterpreted.”
The European Union is a strong supporter of the Palestinian Authority and provides generous political, fiscal and other material support for its construction of illegal homes, schools and infrastructure for outposts and even villages in Area C, the portion of Judea and Samaria that was designated to be under the security and administrative control of the State of Israel under the internationally-recognized Oslo Accords.
In past years there has been a great deal of pressure from the European Union, which aligns itself with the international Boycott, Divest and Sanctions economic campaign against Israel, to comply with the boycott against goods produced in post-1967 Israeli Jewish communities, which are believed by European nations to have been established illegally.
The United States, which initially also stood with the EU on the matter, last year changed its policy regarding the status of those communities; at the start of 2020 the US began labeling goods from those areas as “Made in Israel” and continues to do so at present.