Protests force Israeli cosmetic shop to move from central London

London, April 3, IRNA – The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) on Saturday were holding a celebratory demonstration outside an Israeli cosmetic store in central London after it has been forced to move from its flagship location following years of protests.

Ahava, which sells beauty products manufactured in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, is looking for other sites after owners of neighbouring stores in Covent Garden complained to the landlord following boycott protests, according to the Jewish Chronicle.

'When Ahava's lease expires in September, we will not offer them a new one,' a spokeswoman for Shaftesbury PLC, which owns the property, was quoted as saying.

Pro-Palestinian protesters have been demonstrating fortnightly outside the London shop, which opened in April 2007, for more than two years and has sometimes been met by a counter group of pro-Israeli activists, leading to police being drafted in.

Ahava UK's accounts up until the end of 2009 show a total loss of more than £250,000, despite receiving more than £300,000 from its Israeli parent company, with no repayment plan.

'I'm pleased Ahava is leaving. It's brought the street down. I've complained to the landlords, as has everyone here. Everyone would like them to leave. I wish they had left two years ago,” said Colin George, manager of clothes shop next door, The Loft.

The Israeli cosmetics company has faced protests worldwide for “stolen Palestinian products” as part of the international boycott, disinvestment and sanctions campaign./end