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Itongadol.- Justice Minister Tzipi Livni fears the potential disaster facing Israel if nothing is done to combat the European boycott of Israeli goods, she told an accountant\’s conference in Eilat on Monday.
"If we do not take action regarding the European boycott of goods coming from the settlement areas, the boycott will eventually extend to all of Israel," Livni warned.
Livni claimed that some European countries see Israel as a colonizing nation, and this has affected economic relations with those countries.
Recently the fast food chain McDonald\’s made headlines for refusing to allow its restaurant to be built in an up-and-coming Ariel mall, since Ariel is over the Green Line.
Livni was also extremely proud of recent youth-lead protests against the export of gas, which at least one social movement, J14, has claimed will rob the public of $600 billion.
"I saw our young people crying out in protest against the gas exports," Livni said. "I greatly admire the fact that they care, that they are looking toward the future, and that they are demanding that we do the same."
The Hatnua leader noted that not only is it important that Israel be concerned about the internal struggle over gas exportation, but also that the government be aware of international image and interests.
"The time has come that these same youth begin asking which states we do business with regarding our gas reservoirs," she said. "It\’s impossible to just focus on the economic aspects (of policy) and ignore the status of the political issues."
"Just like Israeli youth are talking about economic ideologies, so is Europe – and Europe is boycotting products," she said.