The Jewish community of Beit El in Judea and Samaria. Credit: Yaakov via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The Youth of the European People’s Party (YEPP)—a center-right political youth organization representing 39 European countries has cast the first-ever vote against boycotting products and factories in Judea and Samaria.

The Samaria Regional Council in tandem with Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu party youth leaders successfully lobbied to pass the vote against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which took place at the YEPP conference in Hungary.

“We are calling on all European Union institutions—especially in light of the renewed peace negotiations in the region—not to harm businesses that provide jobs and facilitate direct contact and cooperation between both sides in Judea and Samaria,” stated the decision, Israel Hayom reported.

The vote, which passed with a 90-percent majority, comes after strenuous behind-the-scenes efforts of the Samaria Regional Council’s Foreign Relations Office, headed by Regional Council Deputy Chairman Yossi Dagan. “This is a historic step toward shattering attempts to boycott Israel,” Dagan said.