The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on Sunday said merchants importing and selling products of Jewish settlements in the West Bank would be punished from the beginning of August.

The dealers who bring the settlement products "would have to pay big amounts of fine or might be imprisoned," Hassan Abu Libda, Palestinian minister of economy, told reporters.

Abu Libda added that his ministry would inspect the markets next month and search all stores "and would transfer anybody dealing with the settlements' products to justice."

The beginning of August marks the end of an eight-month ultimatum the PNA had given to Palestinian dealers to stop importing goods made in Jewish settlements that were illegally built on occupied land.

Prior to that, President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree outlawing settlement products.

Settlements are the thorny issue that blocks Israeli and Palestinians from making progress in peace negotiations that aim at creating a Palestinian statehood alongside Israel.