By the end of the calendar year there will be no Palestinians working in Israeli settlements, Ramallah-based Minister of Labor Ahmad Majdalani announced Thursday.

The move comes amid a government campaign to boycott settlement products, following the prohibition of such goods in Palestinian markets, and the implementation of a ban on the sale of phone cards and SIM chips for Israeli cellphone providers with mobile towers in settlements.

In his announcement, Majdalani said the ban - which began at the start of 2010 - had already achieved "notable results" during the course of the year. Specifically, he said there were 7,000 fewer Palestinians working in the settlements because of the decline in production of settlement goods, and added that Palestinian products were quickly replacing the settlement goods in shops.

Moreover, Majdalani said, the former settlement laborers were being absorbed into the Palestinian workforce as demand for local products increased.