Palestinians rejoice as Norway's capital Oslo bans Israeli settlement goods

In a new BDS victory, Oslo has banned Israeli settlement goods.

2 min read

31 October, 2019

BDS is a nonviolent movement [Getty]

Norway's capital Oslo has banned Israeli settlement goods and services from public contracts in what has been hailed as another win for the nonviolent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

In their 2019-2023 plan, Norway's Socialist Left, Green and Labour parties made a commitment to ensuring that public procurement does not include "goods and services produced on territory occupied in violation of international law by companies operating under the permission of the occupying power."

The Norwegian city's newly installed City Council has become the sixth Norwegian municipality to adhere to BDS.

"The Palestinian people, who have to deal with the illegal occupation of their territory every single day, deserve international attention and support," said Sunniva Eidsvoll, leader of the Oslo chapter of the Socialist Left Party (SV) and of SV's Oslo City Council group.

Read also: '#BoycottPuma', Palestine activists across the world say

"It is a shared global responsibility to help ensure that human rights and international law are not violated. I am proud that the Oslo City Council is now taking steps to prevent goods and services purchased by the city from supporting an illegal occupation of Palestine or other territories," she added.

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She said the "Socialist Left Party of Norway has been a longtime supporter of the BDS movement".

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions committee, comprised of over 170 Palestinian civil society organisations, unions, and cultural and rights groups - including all major political parties, trade and academic unions - issued its official call for boycott in 2005.

The nonviolent BDS movement says it is inspired by the campaign that targeted South Africa's apartheid regime and is seeking to put an end to Israel's brutal occupation of the West Bank.

Israel sees the movement as a strategic threat and accuses it of anti-Semitism – a claim activists firmly deny, calling it an attempt to discredit them.

But BDS, which adheres to peaceful resistance, aims to pressure Israel to adhere to international law and human rights by lobbying various states, institutions and personas to understand its oppression of Palestinians and take action as a result.

The peaceful movement operates by pressuring corporations, artists and academic institutions to sever ties with Israel with supporters saying activities are aimed at promoting a Palestinian statehood.

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