RAMALLAH (Maan) -- The consumer protection department of the Palestinian Authority referred 517 merchants to the general prosecution during 2011 for breaking laws regulating goods in the West Bank, officials said in a statement Tuesday.

The unit confiscated 3 million shekels ($787,857) worth of products during the year, undersecretary in the ministry of national economy Abdul-Hafizh Nofal said.

Officials are tasked with blocking products not fit for consumption, and those smuggled from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, as well as regulating prices of basic food items.

In 2011, the ministry team conducted 7,732 inspections in markets, bakeries and good stores, and examined samples of 738 products, the statement said.

"Consumer protection teams will double their efforts to secure Palestinian people’s safety and health," it added.