February 24, 2020

Israel and Palestine end five-month agriculture trade dispute

The Israeli Ministry of Defense said the calf boycott has been lifted and trade with the Palestinian Authority (PA) will be reinstated, reported Reuters.

In a statement, the PA Prime Minister's office said the agreement between both parties would mean Israel will allow the PA to import livestock, inclusive of calves, directly from all nations around the world without barriers.

The trade dispute started in September 2019 after the PA imposed a boycott on calves from Israel. In response, Naftali Bennett, the Israeli Defense Minister announced a ban on all agriculture imports from the PA in January 2020. This led the PA to announce a ban on all agricultural imports from Israel in retaliation.

The Israel Defense Ministry subsequently banned all exports from Palestine through Jordan in a move said to tempt the PA to lift the ban on Israeli calves.

The Israel Agriculture Ministry said the calves boycott has cost US$70 million in losses to Israeli cattle breeders since October last year.

The latest trade dispute had affected the trade links between Israel and the PA, which began when interim peace records was signed by both parties in the 1990s. The trade links were not affected during the peace talks breakdown in 2014.

-      Reuters