March 10, 2016 | FSRN
British private security contractor G4S announced Wednesday that the company will liquidate its operations in Israel after reporting a steep drop in annual profits. The multinational, which sells services and equipment to Israeli detention centers and West Bank checkpoints, has long been a focus of the BDS movement. But a new U.S. law, signed late last month by President Barack Obama, may complicate the economic shaming campaigns that have been gaining traction around the world.
The stated aim of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 is to remove unfair barriers to competitive U.S. trade, but the legislation also includes provisions designed to oppose boycotts and similar economic measures against Israel. While the bill passed without much controversy or coverage in the U.S., Lena Odgaard reports that its implications could mark a change in 50 years of U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.