Israel Prepares Media War Against Boycott Movement

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has overseen a secret meeting with three of his top ministers to discuss the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) threat against Israel.

The meeting was attended by foreign minister Avigdor Libererman, economy minister Naftali Bennett and strategic affairs minister Yuval Steinitz.

Moderate-leaning figures such as finance minister Yair Lapid and justice minister Tzipi Livni, who is also chief negotiator in the Israeli-Palestinians peace talks, were not invited to the meeting despite their connections to the boycott issue.

Steinitz reportedly laid out a plan for a media war against organisations who engage in boycotts.

The Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that his strategy features Israeli intelligence vowing to expose "their connection to terror organisations and enemy states".

Israel boycott pressure is mounting after Denmark's largest bank, Danske Bank, blacklisted Israeli Bank Hapoalim because it finances construction of illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank.

Sweden's Nordea Bank – the largest in Scandinavia – followed the Danish bank and has also taken steps against Israeli banks involved in construction in the settlements.

In January, PGGM, Netherlands' largest pension fund management company divested all investments from Israel's five biggest banks.

The Norwegian finance ministry has also blacklisted Africa Israel Investments and Danya Cebus because of their involvement in constructing settlements in East Jerusalem.

Norway's Government Pension Fund Global, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, was barred from investing in those two Israeli companies due to their "serious violations" of individual rights.

Actress Scarlett Johansson stepped down as ambassador for humanitarian group Oxfam International after being condemned for featuring in advertisement for an Israeli company that operates in the West Bank.

Johansson signed on as the first global brand ambassador of SodaStream International LTD which came under fire from pro-Palestinian activists for its large factory in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the West Bank.