A Palestinian court on Wednesday sentenced three men to prison terms of two years each for the crime of “trading commodities produced in Israeli settlements.” The sentencing marked the first time the law has been enforced and violators sentenced to jail terms. The law was passed in 2010 making it a criminal offense to trade goods manufactured or produced in the Israeli communities located on land Israel conquered in the 1967 war and are claimed by the Palestinians for their state-in-formation. The law also prohibits Palestinians from working in or for settlements, but it has never been enforced because so many Palestinians need employment in settlements in order to survive economically. But as the atmosphere becomes increasingly toxic between Palestinians and Israelis, and the settlement issue remains arguably in the forefront of the Palestinian narrative, what is referred to as “normalization,” – social or economic interaction between Jews and Palestinians – is becoming increasingly threatening.
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