Friday February 12, 2010 04:42 by Saed Bannoura – IMEMC News Report post

The “Stolen Beauty” campaign has declared a small victory, after Costco stores agreed to stop carrying Dead Sea Salt from the Ahava corporation.

AHAVA Dead Sea Laboratories is an Israeli cosmetics company whose manufacturing plant is in an illegal settlement on Palestinian land.

The settlement, Mitzpe Shalem, was built near the shores of the Dead Sea in 1970.

Activists with the Stolen Beauty campaign argue that Ahava”s use of Palestinian natural resources from the Dead Sea is patently illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

They have called for a boycott of Ahava Dead Sea products.

After a letter-writing campaign beginning in December led by Costco members, the store now says that it no longer carries Ahave products.

The management of Costco did not comment on whether the decision to stop carrying Ahava products was due to the boycott campaign.