McDonald's says no to West Bank settlement The decision provoked outrage in the Israeli settlements, with pro-Israeli activists declaring "McDonalds - I'm not loving it!" and urging consumers to wage a counter-boycott on McDonald's outlets in favour of home-grown hamburger chains. The chain decided not to open a restaurant in Ariel, a settlement that is home to almost 17,000 Israelis and which the Israeli government expects to retain in any final peace settlement with the Palestinians. McDonald's decision not to be part of the Ariel mall is a miserable decision discriminating against the city's residents. The entire culture and commerce issue should be left out of the political arena," argued Eliyahu Shaviro, Ariel's mayor. Commerce is a bridging factor, which creates good conditions for a system of mutual relations regardless of one's religion, race or gender. The entire boycott issue does the exact opposite, causing a rift instead of a bridge," he added. Omri Padan, the owner of McDonald's Israel, is also a co-founder of Peace Now, an Israeli peace movement that campaigns against Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, which is illegal under international law. Mr Padan has declared openly since the 1980s, almost ten years before he launched McDonald's in Israel, that he would not do business in the West Bank. "Padan is detached from reality," Hana Golan, an Ariel mayoral candidate, told Israeli journalists. We have overcome Pharaoh and we will easily overcome Padan's boycott, with blue and white Israeli companies. Since its Israeli launch in 1993, the fast food giant has enjoyed booming trade under Mr Padan's stewardship, growing by nine restaurants a year. It now represents 70 percent of Israel's fast food business. Sources closes to Mr Padan have dismissed the furore emitting from Ariel as publicity seeking and revealed the mogul has refused similar invitations to launch a restaurant in another large mall in one of Jerusalem's satellite settlements. Padan hadn't heard of this mall [in Ariel] until he was approached seven months ago. He rejected the idea outright," one confident told Israel's Haaretz newspaper, adding: "Our chain's policies concerning the opening of branches across the Green Line have been well know for years."