Facing Strong Boycott over Support for Israel, Carrefour Closes Jordan Branches

A Spanish campaign to boycott Carrefour. (Photo: B.N.Sanchez., via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

While Carrefour did not elaborate on the reason behind the closure, the step is viewed as a result of the company’s boycott.  

The French multinational retailer and wholesaling corporation Carrefour announced on Monday that it will shut down all its branches in Jordan, a step viewed as a result of the boycott movement the chain underwent since the start of the war on Gaza in October of last year.

The retailer company announced the move in a post on Facebook.

“As of November 4, 2024, Carrefour will cease all operations in Jordan and will no longer operate within the Kingdom,” the statement read.

BDS Call to Boycott

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement has called on consumers to boycott the French chain.

“In March 2022, the French Group Carrefour announced a franchise partnership with Electra Consumer Products (ECP) and ECP’s retail subsidiary Yenot Bitan, both active in the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise,” a statement in the BDS website reads.

The boycott movement cited the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in July 2024, affirming that “Israel’s entire military occupation of and very presence in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, including its settlement enterprise in the occupied Palestinian territory, is illegal, and any support or recognition to it is prohibited.

The controversy surrounding the French company deepened since the start of Israel’s genocide on Gaza, when Carrefour reportedly sent Israeli soldiers “gifts of personal packages,” according to the BDS movement.

Although the retail company tried to distance itself from responsibility, BDS argues, “the company is complicit in Israel’s crimes as long as its business is directly or indirectly aiding and abetting apartheid, genocide and human rights violations.”

BDS vowed in its statement that the boycott call will remain intact “until Carrefour takes concrete steps to end its complicity with Israeli apartheid and illegal military occupation and respects the rights of the Palestinian people.”

Genocide Continues

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,374 Palestinians have been killed, and 102,261 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

LIVE BLOG: 25 Killed in Beit Lahia | Israeli Drone Kills Palestinians in Jenin – Day 396

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety. 

(PC, Anadolu)

(The Palestine Chronicle is a registered 501(c)3 organization, thus, all donations are tax deductible.)
Our Vision For Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders & Intellectuals Speak Out

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*