Ben & Jerry’s won’t sell ice cream in West Bank

Ben & Jerry’s, the iconic Vermont-based brand, announced Monday it would no longer sell ice cream in the West Bank.

In a statement, the company said it was “inconsistent with our values” for the ice cream to be sold in Palestinian territory that was occupied by Israel. Ben and Jerry’s said it would not be renewing an agreement with a local licensee when it expires at the end of next year.

Though Ben & Jerry’s ice creams would no longer be sold in occupied Palestinian territories, “we will stay in Israel through a different arrangement,” the statement continued.

The move provoked rancor in Israel, with government officials condemning the decision. “Ben & Jerry’s decided to brand itself as anti- Israel ice cream,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement. “This is a moral mistake and I believe it will turn out to be a business mistake as well.”

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid dubbed it a “shameful capitulation to antisemitism” and added Israel could use U.S. laws that target the boycotts, divestment and sanctions movement to retaliate against the company.

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, known to be a voracious consumer of ice cream who once had a $2,700-a-year habit while prime minister, also condemned the company, writing on Twitter that Ben & Jerry’s showed Israelis “which ice cream NOT to buy.”

However, some Israeli politicians appeared to welcome the news. Ayman Odeh, leader of the Joint List of Arab parties, tweeted an image of himself eating a tub of “Cone sweet cone” flavored Ben & Jerry’s and grinning.

The decision to pull out of the West Bank came after pressure from pro-Palestinian groups, who argued the sale of Ben & Jerry’s products in Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory was at odds with the company’s support for social justice.

The brand had been criticized in the aftermath of the conflict between Israeli forces and militants in the Gaza Strip in May, with both supporters and critics of Palestinian causes bombarding its social media with questions about the Middle East.