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One of the co-founders of the well-known frozen dessert company Ben and Jerry's has announced that parent company the multinational conglomerate stopped the launch for an innovative Palestine-themed frozen dessert product.

Ben Cohen, that established the business with his partner, disclosed how he will personally create the controversial product as part of a personal series highlighting issues Ben & Jerry's has been prevented from speaking out about.

Ongoing Dispute Involving Founders and Parent Company

This latest development intensifies the continuing conflict among the world-famous ice cream maker and Unilever, the UK-based consumer goods giant that has owned the ice cream brand for over two decades.

The co-founders maintain how Unilever and its ice cream arm the Magnum brand unlawfully blocked their company from "honouring its social mission".

The Fruit Sorbet becoming a Symbol for Solidarity

Mr. Cohen stated via an Instagram video that he's developing an innovative watermelon-based sorbet, requesting public suggestions regarding the product's name plus potential ingredients.

“I'm accomplishing what they couldn't,” Mr. Cohen stated in his kitchen. “I'm making a watermelon-flavored ice cream that calls for lasting ceasefire in Palestine while demanding repairing the damage that occurred in the region.”

The watermelon has become a symbol of support for the Palestinian people due to its colors, that match those of Palestine's national banner – red, green, black and white.

Historical Activism and Recent Developments

Several years ago, Ben & Jerry's ceased sales of their merchandise in areas under Israeli control, leading to Unilever transferring the Israeli operation over to a local licensee, thus allowing ongoing distribution within the occupied West Bank.

The new dessert series will be developed under Mr. Cohen's personal brand, the activist dessert company which originally created in 2016 for endorsing former US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders with the product "Bernie's Return".

Leadership Changes plus Future Plans

The founder stated how he will develop other ice cream flavors focusing on concerns which Ben & Jerry's was silenced from addressing publicly by corporate restrictions.

The announcement follows partner Jerry Greenfield resigned his position at the company in September, following many years with the organization, citing concerns regarding how its independence had been undermined after corporate moves to curb its social activism.

Previously, Ben Cohen remarked how “My partner has strong compassion and the ongoing dispute with our parent company was breaking it."

"My heart leads me to continue to work inside the company to advocate for its independence so that the company can fulfill its ethical purpose, the values that it was founded on while upholding for decades," he told media outlets.

• Corporate owner restrictions regarding social activism
• Independent product development from original creators
• The fruit-based product as political symbol
• Continuing tensions among corporate ownership and social mission