The European Union this week issued its long-awaited guidelines to label settlement products produced in the illegal settlements Israel has built in the territory it occupied in 1967. Even before the guidelines were issued, the Israeli government blasted the move, claiming it undermined peace and discriminated against Israel.

It even claimed labelling would hurt Palestinian workers in Israeli settlements. This claim deliberately creates confusion and diverts international attention from the colossal damage Israel’s occupation and colonization of Palestine does to the Palestinian economy.

True, some Palestinians work in Israeli settlements. But how many? And why do they work in settlements? To answer these questions, it is useful to begin with a quick look at the impact of Israel’s occupation on the Palestinian economy.

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