Food products from Israeli-occupied territories must be labelled as such to avoid misleading consumers, the EU's top court ruled Tuesday, in particular if they come from settlements in those

areas. The European Court of Justice said that, under EU rules on food labelling, it must be clear where products are from so consumers can make choices based on "ethical considerations and considerations relating to the observance of international law".

The ruling comes after France's top tribunal asked for clarification of rules on labelling goods from the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, which the international community considers occupied Palestinian land, as well as the Golan Heights, which Israel took from Syria in 1967.

France published guidelines in 2016 saying products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Golan Heights must carry labels making their precise origin clear, but this was challenged by the Organisation Juive Europeene (European Jewish Organisation) and Psagot, a company that runs vineyards in occupied territories.

The secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Saeb Erekat, welcomed the ruling but urged the EU to go further.

"Our demand is not only for the correct labelling reflecting the certificate of origin of products coming from illegal colonial settlements, but for the banning of those products from international markets."

But a spokeswoman for the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said the ruling did not change the bloc's "fundamental support for the security of Israel".

"The EU does not support any form of boycott or sanctions against Israel and the EU rejects attempts by the campaigns of the so-called Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement to isolate Israel," Mina Andreeva said.

- 'Ethical considerations' -

The court said that labelling products as from the "State of Israel" when in fact they come from "territories... occupied by that State and subject to a limited jurisdiction of the latter, as an occupying power within the meaning of international humanitarian law" could mislead consumers.

The court added that the EU's 2011 regulations on labelling the origin of goods are intended to allow consumers to make "informed choices, with regard not only to health, economic, environmental and social considerations, but also to ethical considerations and considerations relating to the observance of international law".

"The court underlined in that respect that such considerations could influence consumers' purchasing decisions," the ECJ said.

On the issue of Israeli settlements, the court said "they give concrete expression to a policy of population transfer conducted by that State outside its territory, in violation of the rules of general international humanitarian law".

As a result, "the omission of that indication, with the result that only the territory of origin is indicated, might mislead consumers", the court said.

But Francois-Henri Briard, the lawyer for Psagot, condemned the ruling, saying it catered to "political prejudices".

"If such labelling is applied to Israeli products, surely it will also need to be applied to scores of other countries around the world who could be argued to be in violation of international law," he said in a statement.

The 2016 French ruling drew an angry response from Israel, which accused Paris of aiding a boycott of the Jewish state and of double standards by ignoring other territorial disputes around the world.