Dr. Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said that Israel has tools to respond to foreign boycotts of products from Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights. Diker noted that under the Oslo Accords, Israeli products from Area C are recognized as Israeli products, and argued that countries boycotting them are distorting the agreements' legal framework.
He proposed using Israel's economic relationship with the Palestinian Authority as leverage.
"Ninety-six percent of the PA's exports go to Israel," Diker said. "If we impose a boycott on Palestinian production, meaning furniture, goods, fruits, vegetables, and more, it will collapse their economy and it will become a lever for pressure on Western countries."
Asked whether such measures could lead to accusations that Israel was attempting to harm the Palestinian population, Diker said the outcome would depend largely on how Israel presents its policies to the world. He called for a change in what he described as the "eighth front," the battle for public opinion and international legitimacy.
Diker argued that Israeli Arab and Druze citizens who identify with the State of Israel could play a particularly important role in presenting Israel's case, including exposing what he described as Palestinian Authority propaganda and its payments to terrorists and their families.
He also said Palestinian activists in Western capitals could potentially be encouraged to pressure European governments to abandon boycotts that could ultimately harm the Palestinian economy. Diker acknowledged that some countries are unlikely to change their positions, but said political shifts in other Western countries could create opportunities for Israel to influence policy.
He also called for a more proactive approach toward the United States, where he said Israel is losing support within the Democratic Party.
"We must not apologize and explain ourselves from a defensive position," Diker said. "We are moving from public relations to exposure, from defense to attack across all arenas."
To achieve this, Diker called on the government to establish a "Ministry of Impact and Awareness" and treat international public diplomacy as a national security issue, with dedicated resources and budgets to counter diplomatic and public-relations campaigns against Israel.