Why is Israel angry with an ice cream brand?

U.S.-based ice cream brand Ben and Jerry has decided to stop selling its products to the Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

Ice creams hardly play a role in international conflicts. But the U.S.-based ice cream brand Ben and Jerry’s decision to stop selling its products to the Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories of East Jerusalem and West Bank has triggered an uproar in Israel, which has taken the battle against the brand to its parent company and 35 American States. Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned Unilever, the London-based parent company of Ben and Jerry’s, of “severe consequences” over its subsidiary’s decision. In its July 19 statement, Ben and Jerry’s, known for taking up progressive causes such as Black Lives Matter, said the sales of its products in the occupied Palestinian territories was "inconsistent with our values". Israel seized the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and has promoted Jewish settlements in the territories since the 1970s. Currently, there are about 140 Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem where more than 6,00,000 Jews live.