Palestine Says Halted Israeli Agricultural Imports as Answer to Similar Ban by Other Side
Palestinian authorities have imposed a ban on imports of agricultural goods from Israel in response to the Israeli authorities' decision to cut similar kinds of products from Palestine out of country's market, the Palestinian Authority said in a statement.
In mid-December, Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel said that the country imposed a temporary ban on imports of agricultural products from Palestine, accusing the Palestinian Authority of unilaterally violating their bilateral trade agreements after it banned the deliveries of lamb from Israel.
"In accordance with the principle of protecting the local produce and the Palestinian farmer in order to achieve the government's policy of supporting the steadfastness of the Palestinian farmers and in light of the unilateral Israeli decision to prevent the entry of Palestinian vegetables and fruits into Israeli markets, the government decided to prevent the entry of all kinds of vegetables, fruits and poultry into the Palestinian markets," the statement was quoted as saying by the Wafa news agency.
Israel's ban on imports of Palestinian agricultural goods will reportedly cost Palestine around $270,000 per day. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2017, Palestine imported $5.8 billion worth of goods, with Israeli imports accounting for $3.2 billion.