Pret A Manger pulls out of plans to open in Israel
Pret A Manger has cancelled plans to open dozens of stores across Israel after pro-Palestinian campaigners threatened a boycott.
The British sandwich shop was set to open 40 stores in Israel by 2033 as part of a 10-year franchise deal with local partners Fox Group and Yarzin Sella Group.
However, in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on 31 May, Fox Group said Pret A Manger had activated a "force majeure" clause, which allows a party to negate contractual obligations due to extreme and unforeseeable circumstances.
"We have taken the difficult decision to end our current agreement with Fox Group and Yarzin Sella Group," a Pret A Manger spokesperson told World Coffee Portal.
"We tried to delay this decision for as long as possible, but the significant ongoing travel restrictions have meant that our teams have not been able to conduct the checks and training needed to set up Pret in a new market."
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Although the company did not cite boycott campaigns as a reason for the pullout, pro-Palestinian activists hailed the move as a victory.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which launched a campaign advocating a boycott of Pret A Manger over its planned operation in Israel, welcomed the news.
"This decision sends a message to all companies – if you provide support for Israel’s apartheid and genocide against Palestinians, you will face the strength of our movement who will boycott your products and protest at your stores," the organisation wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The UN said on Monday that the ongoing Israeli invasion of southern Gaza’s Rafah has forcibly displaced over one million Palestinians into damaged and destroyed facilities in nearby Khan Younis.
The ground attack on the city, launched in early May, disrupted the flow of aid into Gaza after Israeli forces seized the vital Rafah crossing with Egypt and closed off aid.
More than 3,500 Palestinian children are now at risk of death due to the "Israeli policy of starvation", the Gaza-based government media office said on Monday.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 36,479 Palestinians, with over 82,777 wounded and an estimated 10,000 missing, believed to be dead and buried under rubble, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
More than 15,000 children and 10,000 women are among those killed.
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