Washington, November 14 (RHC)-- The United States says it supports a decision made by the European Union to label goods from the illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land. The U.S. State Department says it doesn't consider the new EU rule banning "Made in Settlements" tags on goods produced in the occupied West Bank as a boycott of the Zionist regime.

The European Commission has adopted new guidelines on labeling of products from the settlements illegally constructed by Israel on the occupied Palestinian territories.

The European Commission "adopted this morning the Interpretative Notice on indication of origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967," Reuters quoted an EU official as saying on Wednesday.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) welcomed the EU rule. PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat referred to the decision as a "significant move toward a total boycott of Israeli settlements, which are built illegally on occupied Palestinian lands."

The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the labeling "a politically motivated and unusual and discriminatory step, that [the European Union] learned from the world of boycotts," referring to the international movement of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel, known as BDS.

The campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel has gained momentum in recent years. The BDS boycott campaign against Israel over its apartheid policies toward the Palestinians has gained momentum globally in recent years.

The BDS movement seeks to end the Israeli occupation and colonization of Palestinian lands and respect the right of return of Palestinian refugees.