Bethlehem -Ma’an – Organizers of the Israel Colonizes – Dexia Finances campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions from Israel celebrated the recent announcement that Dexia banking group that no more loans would be approved for settlement projects.

The announcement appeared in the 3 January edition of the Jerusalem Post, and according to the campaign, Dexia Israel Public Finance had already begun to inform clients they would no longer be eligible for loans.The move marked the “officialization” of an earlier decision by Dexia headquarters in Belgium.

On 13 May 2009, President of the Board of the Dexia group Jean-Luc Dehaene, announced at the General Assembly that settlement financing was not in line with the goals of the company. However, the decision only applies to settlements in the West Bank, and not those in East Jerusalem.

Organizers credited the 69 organizations that pulled together demonstrations, petitions, posters, and parliamentary questions, with what a statement called a “partial victory” against the colonization of the West Bank.

The campaign, a statement said, “will be pursued until the Dexia group responds favorably to all our demands and puts an end to the loans given to the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem.”