Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories is an Israeli company which manufactures cosmetic products with mud excavated from the Dead Sea. Ahava plunders Palestinian natural resources, which constitutes a war crime.

The company is based in the Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Shalem. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. A settlement is no abstract concept but consists of homes, infrastructure and businesses. These businesses benefit from Israeli financial services, protection by the army and Palestinian natural resources, including water and mud from the Dead Sea.

“There is no beauty in stolen products,” says the USA based Code Pink.

Ahava sells its products all over the world. In the Netherlands it is sold by Boots Apotheken, Mediq Apotheken, and through web shops, at beauty salons and spas.

A judicial principle says “ex iniuria ius non oritur,”meaning a legal right or entitlement cannot arise from an unlawful act or omission. Because settlements are illegal, the products from settlements are too. That’s why trade with settlements should be banned.