US ‘deeply concerned’ by EU court decision on food from Palestinian territories

Washington (AFP) – The United States is “deeply concerned” by a ruling by the European Union’s top court that food products from occupied Palestinian territories must be labelled as such, the US State Department spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The European Court of Justice on Tuesday ruled that under EU rules on food labelling it must be clear where products are from — particularly if they come from Israeli settlements.

“The circumstances surrounding the labeling requirement in the specific facts presented to the Court are suggestive of anti-Israel bias,” spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement, noting that Washington is “deeply concerned” by the EU requirement.

“America stands with Israel against efforts to economically pressure, isolate, or delegitimize it.”