(AP/Susan Walsh)
John Kirby

The US State Department is backing the European Union’s ridiculous claim that the labeling of Israeli products so that they can be boycotted – is not technically a boycott. 

A US State Department spokesman stated Tuesday that the US did not view the European Union’s (EU) new policy of labeling Israeli goods produced in Judea and Samaria as a form of boycott on Israel.

“We do not view labeling the origin of products as being from the settlements a boycott of Israel. We also do not believe that labeling the origin of products is equivalent to a boycott,” spokesman John Kirby stated.

The EU issued a directive in November ordering that all Israeli products coming out of Judea and Samaria be specially labeled, effectively singling them out for boycotts.

While stating that the US opposed boycotts on Israel, Kirby reiterated that the Obama administration’s “longstanding position on settlements is clear. We view Israeli settlement activity as illegitimate and counterproductive to the cause of peace.”

Washington remains “deeply concerned about Israel’s current policy” in Judea and Samaria he said.

“The US Government has never defended or supported Israeli settlements, because administrations from both parties have long recognized that settlement activity beyond the 1967 lines and efforts to change the facts on the ground undermine prospects for a two-state solution. We are no different,” Kirby claimed.

Kirby was referring to some 400,000 Israeli citizens who live in Judea and Samaria, the Jewish People’s biblical and historical heartland.

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel