The Trade Union Congress (TUC) is to vote on a suggestion to boycott Israeli goods amid a political storm that could potentially cripple some fresh produce exports from the country.

Delegates at the TUC will vote on a call to boycott Israeli goods and ban the importation of products from "illegal Israeli settlements".

Union leaders debated the issue long and hard on Tuesday before deciding to back the move, put forward by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), supported by Unite and Unison.

The FBU objects to Israel’s actions in Gaza, in particular an offensive in January that saw more than 1,000 people killed in the three-week mission.

Israel's deputy ambassador in London, Talya Lador-Fresher, expressed disappointment that the move had come from the FBU.

Lador-Fresher told the BBC it would help the "radicals burn all hopes for reconciliation" and said it was concerned the FBU, whose "job is to take out fire but in this case, setting fire on" had put forward the motion saying they had "hijacked the agenda".

"Boycotts will not bring the peace process forward. It will only harm workers in our area. It will harm both Palestinian workers, 50,000 of which are working in Israel and the West Bank, and it will also harm Israeli workers," she said.

"It may even backfire and harm British workers in this country because boycotts have a tendency to work both ways."

If agreed, the motion would see TUC members turn their backs on Israeli goods, especially agricultural products produced in the settlements.

The FBU will call for an end to arms trading with Israel, a ban on importing goods from "illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories" and promotion of a consumer-led boycott.

The TUC General Council supported the move after a lengthy and heated meeting ahead of its congress in Liverpool today.

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