RAMALLAH, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Thursday applauded the ruling issued by the European Human Rights Court in favor of 11 activists, all supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, as "a victory for human rights defenders."
"It is a clear-cut victory for the BDS movement, and is a painful blow to Israel, its allies and its oppressive measures that are based on suppressing and silencing pro-Palestinian advocates," said the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.
In a statement, he urged more European Union (EU) member states to boycott the products of Israeli settlements.
The court ruled against the activists' conviction of incitement to economic discrimination, saying the conviction "had no relevant and sufficient grounds."
The court ordered the French government to pay 101,000 euros (about 114,183 U.S. dollars) in overall damages to the 11 activists.
The activists, led by French national Jean-Michel Baldassi, were convicted of incitement to economic discrimination after taking part in demonstrations calling for a boycott of Israeli products in 2009 and 2010 in France.
Still, the French government has three months to appeal the decision.
In November 2019, the European Court of Justice ruled that EU countries must label products made in Israeli settlements. Enditem
