Breaking Update
Israeli Agency Orders Screening of 100% of All Produce Brought to Israel from Palestinian Areas
Israel's COGAT will screen 100% of produce from Palestinian areas for safety and health, implementing stricter Food Law enforcement.
Jerusalem, 11 March, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Under the direction of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Israel will now take samples of 100% of the agricultural entering Israel from the Palestinian Authority territories; the CGA will fully implement the Food Law. The samples will be tested to determine if the products entering Israel are safe and healthy for consumption.
Also, additional tests will also be carried out on the farms by authorized laboratories.
The decision was made after the head of COGAT, Major General Yoram Halevi, held a discussion today (Wednesday) on the subject of supervision of the agricultural produce brought from the Palestinian Authority territories to the territories of the State of Israel.
The discussion took place following the exceptional data presented regarding the findings discovered in the tests carried out on agricultural produce, and the health risk derived from them, where a series of immediate steps were decided upon to strengthen the supervision and enforcement mechanisms on such produce.
In addition, it was decided that produce that will be sampled will be held in temporary warehouses until the laboratory results are received, in accordance with the procedures of the Ministry of Health and under the responsibility of the authorized Israeli marketers.
It was also agreed that all administrative powers will be exercised against growers and marketers who violate the law, including imposing fines, forfeiting guarantees, and removal from the list of authorized entities. The measures were determined in cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Control Unit.
