A $40 billion Israelite garment manufacturer faces growing pressure to stop making its products in territories controlled by Palestinians.
The Jerusalem-based clothing company, which is owned by Israeli-American businessman and entrepreneur Peter Klein, is facing boycotts from Israel and the U.S. after it stopped making clothing in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The company said on Monday it would continue to manufacture its clothes in Israel, but would discontinue production in the Gaza Strip as well.
The Israeli government’s position has been to pressure the company to stop selling clothes to Palestinian residents of the territories.
A boycott of Israeli products is a violation of international law and is a crime.
It said on Saturday it would suspend its production of some products in the West Bank while the company works with the U., the European Union and other governments to “safeguard the security of its citizens.”
The company’s main competitor in the apparel business is a $40-billion Israeli clothing company named Levi Strauss and Co. The two companies together have produced clothing for $100 billion in global sales.
Klein, a former Goldman Sachs partner, founded the clothing company with a $1 billion loan from his father, Levi Strauss, in 1986.
Israel has been a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2010.
It’s the latest blow to Klein’s business empire as he faces accusations of political corruption in Israel.
He denies the allegations.
Israel’s government and the right-wing Jewish Home party have long accused him of graft, corruption and mismanagement.
Kylie is the third person to be charged with corruption, including by Israeli prosecutors, in connection with his businesses.
The first, former Israel’s attorney general, Elyakim Rubinstein, resigned in 2012.