Submitted by Ali Abunimah on Sun, 04/29/2012 - 12:21

Palestine solidarity campaigners celebrated news that The Co-operative Group – commonly known as The Co-op – has decided to expand its boycott of goods produced in Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land into a complete boycott of Israeli companies that source any goods in settlements. In a 28 April statement, the Boycott Israel Network (BIN) said:

Palestine human rights campaigners today welcomed news that the UK’s fifth biggest food retailer, The Co-operative Group, will “no longer engage with any supplier of produce known to be sourcing from the Israeli settlements.”

This means that as long as any supplier sources products from Israeli settlements, then none of the goods from that supplier, including those not sourced in settlements, will be purchased by the Co-op. According to The Guardian, the decision makes the Co-op, “the first major European supermarket group to end trade with companies that export produce from illegal Israeli settlements.”