The PA has chosen Nablus, the economic capital of West Bank, to launch the campaign in an attempt to educate Palestinians on which products are no longer allowed. The campaign against settlements products is backed by a law recently signed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas entailing prison sentences and fines.

The new law states that anyone who deals in products produced in settlements will be imprisoned for two to five years and pay a fine of up to $14,000. Those who import settlement products into the Palestinian territories are threatened with three to six years, fines of up to $3,000, and the confiscation of their licenses and vehicles.

Jibrin Al-Bakri, the governor of Nablus, said during a press conference that "the campaign's volunteers will move from one house to another to explain how important the boycott of settlements products is." Al-Bakri added that there are 3,000 volunteers backed by the official and economic bodies and associations all over the West Bank "will visit every single house urging them to boycott 500 different kinds of products."

He stressed that the PA campaign to boycott the settlements products "is a serious attempt to create a harmony with the official political Palestinian stance that opposes settlement." "As a governor of Nablus, I will use my authorities to prevent the entry of settlements products into the markets of Nablus city."

The PA hopes that the boycott will encourage the international community to adopt a stronger stance against settlements while helping to end the Palestinian economy's dependence on Israel. In addition to forcing Israeli factories in West Bank settlements to shut down or relocate inside Israel, the campaign is deterring other Israeli businesses from moving to the West Bank industrial zones, which were originally set up to be closer to Palestinian laborers, many of whom are denied permits to work inside Israel.

Ra'ed al Dibi'e, the coordinator of the campaign in Nablus, said its aim was to double the demand for Palestinian products in the West Bank. "Settlement products are a serious obstacle to the development of our various industries and economy," he said.

"We purchase $200 million worth of goods annually and we would prefer to see this money go to Palestinians in order to strengthen the local economy." Dibi'e said the campaign, dubbed 'You and Your Conscience', appeals to Palestinian sentiment, as it recognizes that the law may not be enough to prevent blockade-runners from smuggling the prohibited goods in.

He added that 17 Israeli factories had shut down since the PA launched its campaign of boycotting the Israeli settlement products in 2009.

The Palestinian leadership is looking at the success of the boycott as evidence that a campaign focused on peaceful protest, rather than violent struggle to end Israeli occupation and gain their future statehood, could finally yield results.

The Western-backed Palestinian prime minister said last week that the Palestinians "are definitely committed to a path of nonviolent resistance and defiance in the face of the settlement enterprise, and we are defiantly expressing our right to boycott those products and I believe it is working." "We will continue to do more," Salam Fayyad stressed.

The PA has so far confiscated and destroyed $5 million worth of settlement products; by the end of the year, it will be illegal for Palestinians to work in the settlements. The Authority has established a national "empowerment" fund to help create other jobs for the roughly 25,000 Palestinians who now work in the settlements, but that remains a long-term proposition. For now, many Palestinian workers see no choice but to earn a living however they can.

Dibi'e said that the money earned by Palestinian markets would go toward building the future Palestinian state's economy, strengthening its society, and creating new jobs to balance out any possible loss of employment at settlements.

For its part, the council of Jewish settlement in West Bank, Yesha, called the PA campaign "an act of hostility on behalf of the PA that calls for immediate and incisive reaction." The council added in a press statement that the campaign "is a clear violation of the Paris Protocol which regulates the economic relations between Israel and the PA. Israel must use the PA's funds in its possession to compensate the boycotted factories." The council urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare that he would not take part in the proximity talks with Fayyad, who the settlers say is leading "economic terror" against Israel.

The council added that Israel must not allow Palestinian exports and imports until the boycott is canceled.

The issue of settlement activity in West Bank and Jerusalem has paralyzed peacemaking efforts.

PA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Monday said that US Middle East envoy George Mitchell is scheduled to hold talks in Ramallah on Wednesday with Abbas, marking the launch of the proximity talks with Israel.

Erekat said the talks would focus on final-status issues in general and on borders and security in particular, and that the Palestinians were hoping that the negotiations would lead to the drawing of the future borders between Israel and a Palestinian state.