Wrong Address, Not BDS, Behind Alibaba Halt of Service to Palestinian Territories

The AliExpress e-commerce website will no longer accept orders from Palestinian shoppers, starting in 2022, according to a text message sent to buyers on Monday. No, the reason is not that its parent company, the Chinese e-commerce, retail and technology giant Alibaba, has decided to impose a politically motivated boycott on the Palestinian territories. Rather, it is tired of having to deal with packages being sent back because the Palestinian Authority’s mail system refuses to process packages that include “Israel” in the address. Palestinian residents, unaware of their postal service’s policy, frequently include “Israel” in the destination address of packages intended for delivery in the West Bank or Gaza Strip. Some customers of the Chinese online fast-fashion retailer Shein reported receiving similar messages.