A legal analysis of the recent judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the Psagot Winery Case, concerning the question how products imported into Europe from the “occupied Palestinian territories” should be labeled, shows that the reasoning of the ECJ is seriously flawed.
The Israeli government has called the BDS movement the second most serious existential threat to Israel. Second only to the threats issued by Iran to destroy Israel. Israel is not overreacting. The BDS movement is both dangerous and misleading. As Canadian PM Trudeau recently remarked, it is also anti-Semitic.
The Opinion of AG Hogan at the ECJ in the Psagot Winery case is scrutinized. Conclusion: the AG’s Opinion seems more an expression of political belief than a correct legal opinion based on a sound interpretation and fair application of international law.
From 8 – 9 January 2019, a seminar has taken place in the House of Parliament of the Czech Republic in Prague about the role and policies of the EU vis-a-vis the status of Jerusalem and the future of the Two-state Solution under international law. The Proceedings of the seminar are available from this site.
The so-called ‘Two-state Solution’ appears to be up for grabs. Basically, the Two-state Solution says that the Palestinians have a right to a state covering all of the so-called West Bank, including ‘East Jerusalem’ as their capital. Years of failed negotiations have given way to the growing sentiment that the two-state solution is simply no longer feasible.
In a recent letter titled ‘Europe must stand by the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine’, 37 high-ranking former EU and NATO officials urge the EU to reject President Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ unless this plan commits to the two-state solution and adequately addresses Palestinian demands.
On 13 September 2018, the 25th anniversary of the ‘Oslo Accords’ was passed. The Dutch government has always been a supporter of these accords. Unfortunately, the implementation of the Oslo Accords has stalled and the belief in the Two-state Solution is waning. Positions on both sides of the conflict harden and the situation among the…
Judgment of the Court of Justice (EU), Grand Chamber, 26 July 2017 in CaseC-79/15 P (ECLI:EU:C:2017:584) * This is a judgment in appeal in which the Court of Justice set aside a judgment of the General Court of 17 December 2014 (Hamas v Council). The issue is that since 2001, Hamas has been included in…