Ayelet Shaked
Ayelet ShakedErez Harodi - Osim Tzilum

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) spoke on Tuesday about how her ministry is intending to fend off the challenge of the BDS movement, which seeks to economically harm Israel by spurring on a global boycott against the Jewish state.

Speaking at the Herzliya Conference, Shaked said: "these days, the entire government of Israel and the international department at the Ministry of Justice specifically, is fighting against a series of organizations who would like to hurt Israel, its independence, prosperity and just path."

"A mistaken and misleading international media campaign is taking place these days, creating the impression that doing business with Israeli companies operating beyond the Green Line is illegal," she added, referring to the 1949 Armistice line.

"This argument is fundamentally mistaken, as time after time it was decided in different judicial bodies in multiple countries around the world that companies conducting business in the West Bank does not violate international law."

As noted by Shaked, the 2012 Levy Report thoroughly outlined how Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria is legal under international law.

"I have instructed the international department at the Ministry of Justice to prepare a plan of legal steps against the BDS movement," she said. "Also in this arena we will move from the defense to the offense. For every boycott we will fight back. We have the purchasing power to resist boycotts, and we have the legal power."

Turning her attention to the regional challenges facing Israel, she claimed "the current reality emphasizes moderate actors, and joining them could possibly advance the power balance in the region, making Israel an active, initiative, dominant player."

"The great opportunity we are facing is strengthening the relations with the Kurds. They are democratic, peace keeping people, which have never attacked others. The Kurds and the Jewish people share a long history of relations, based on mutual respect and interests. The interests today are clearer than ever, focusing on fighting extremists and stopping ISIS (Islamic State), a mission which Kurds in Iraq and Syria are risking their lives for," she said.

Shaked continued, "this mission, which strengthens the moderates in the region, is a moral and strategic interest of Israel. We must build political, financial and cultural bridges with the Kurds, and see them strategic partners on a united front. Now is the time to establish a process of cooperation with the Kurds and their brothers in the entire region."