President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday signed into law a ban on Israeli settlement goods in Palestinian markets.

The move officially makes trade in settlement goods a criminal offense, and follows weeks of deliberations and declarations.

Abbas legal advisor Hasan Al-Ouri was quoted by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA as saying the regulations would target "the cancers found in the Palestinian body, which target the Palestinian people's humanity, soil, and fate."

The most important thing, according to Al-Ouri, is that settlement goods are not found in Palestinian markets where the Palestinian buyer could contribute financially and consequently legitimize the enterprise.

There should be no competition between settlement products and Palestinian goods, he added.