Inspections in Ramallah

A few jars of spicy Yemenite sauce and a couple of boxes of date spread, that's what the Palestinian Finance Ministry inspectors managed to find during a raid last Thursday on supermarkets in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Inspectors held over 200 raids in Ramallah alone, in an effort to enforce a new law that prohibits the sale of products manufactured in the Jewish settlements. At this stage, inspectors are refraining from issuing fines and handing out prison sentences, and are making do with issuing warnings and handing out booklets that list the 500 banned products. The merchandise that is seized is confiscated and destroyed. These measures follow the new law passed by President mahmoud Abbas last month banning the trade of goods made by Israelis living in West Bank settlements, stepping up a campaign to build support for an international ban.