South Africa's cabinet on Wednesday said it had approved the placing of Occupied Palestinian Territory labels on imported goods from Jewish settlements.

“The trade minister was given the nod to issue a notice requiring that products are marked so that buyers knew their origin was not Israel”, spokesman Jimmy Manyi told a press briefing.

"This is in line with South Africa's stance that recognizes the 1948 borders delineated by the United Nations and does not recognize occupied territories beyond these borders as being part of the state of Israel," he said.

The plan has been slammed by the Zionist foreign ministry, but South Africa said its backing of Palestine stems from its own history of apartheid, oppression and rights abuses.

Deputy foreign minister Ebrahim Ebrahim recently expressed "concern by high profile and government institutions visits to Israel as it gives legitimacy to Israel occupation of Palestine land," he said.

The trade ministry in May invited public comments on the labels, saying traders must put the tags on so consumers are "not be misled".