BDS graffiti
BDS graffitiiStock

The Fatah movement led by Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas is calling on the governments of European countries to take steps to prevent companies from maintaining ties with “settlements” in Israel.

In a statement on Wednesday, Fatah spokesman in Europe Jamal Nazzal said it was time for European governments to implement international law and EU law regarding the cessation of commercial dealings with Israeli settlements that violate the rights of the Palestinian people.

Nazal said that this is a legitimate tool of economic pressure that it is time to implement after decades of "political sabotage" by "far-right" governments led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Nazal explained that such a move at the current point in time would strengthen the new winds blowing in Washington, encourage the new Israeli government to break away from the previous political approach and give Europe a more important role in the region.