“Don’t break your fasting with Israeli dates” is the title of a new boycotting campaign against Israel in UK, led by “solidarity activists with the Palestinian people” in Britain, supported by “Friends of Al-Aqsa” and “ Al-Zaytoun” organizations.

The campaign organizers advise Muslims to check the kind of Ramadan dates before buying not to be produced in Israeli settlements established by the Zionist entity on the occupied Palestinian lands.

The campaign, which is the biggest supporter to the Palestinian cause in Europe, said in a statement that the Israeli authorities are exporting quantities of dates to the British market under the name of “Medjoul”.

Ramadhan is a time of year when Muslims remember those othe Muslims who are less fortunate than themselves and try to help them. When we break our fasts with dates, it would be an affront to us all if the dates were the produce of illegal Israeli settlements built on land stolen from Palestinians.

Israeli produced Medjoul dates are grown in the Jordan Valley within illegal Israeli settlements. They form a large part of the agricultural produce from these settlements which are then exported all over the world. Buying these dates means that you are actually helping Israeli settlers steal Palestinian land.

Israeli agricultural companies produce this kind of dates in firms established on Palestinian lands in the West Bank and in Jordan valley. Meanwhile , and according to the campaign estimates, the Israeli exports of these dates represent 15% of total Israeli exports to EU markets.

Israeli companies produce more than 10 thousand tons of dates yearly, representing a yearly income of 80 million sterling, mostly are sold during the Holy month of Ramadan.

The solidarity campaign with the Palestinian people, adopts a large scale campaign to boycott the Israeli products in the British market, and it exercises pressures on British MPs in the European Parliament demanding to review the agreement of EU-Israeli partnership, due to continued Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights.

The statement also explained that “ Buying Israeli dates means that you are effectively helping the Israeli settlers to steal Palestinian lands”.

It drew the attention of Muslims and non-Muslims in Britain that Israeli authorities exploit Palestinian children, who are forced to miss out on their education and work long hours under the hot baking sun for small sums of money.

Activists involved in this campaign, a few weeks ago, started to distribute pamphlets calling supporters of the Palestinian human rights, and those opposing Israeli racism policies to protest against shops selling Israeli dates.

The three organizations participating in this campaign are expected, during next coming weeks, to distribute pamphlets in the mosques for the worshipers, and to establish some small stands for selling the Palestinian dates.

AB.