Ben & Jerry's said in a lawsuit that parent company Unilever has blocked its attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees, threatening to dissolve its board and sue its members over the issue.

According to Reuters, the lawsuit filed by the company on Wednesday is the latest sign of a long-running tension between Ben & Jerry's and consumer products company Unilever.

A dispute broke out between them in 2021 after Ben & Jerry's said it would stop selling its products in the occupied West Bank because they conflicted with its values, a move that prompted some investors to dump shares in Unilever.

The ice cream maker then sued Unilever for selling its Israeli business to its licensee there, allowing it to continue marketing in the West Bank and Israel. That suit was settled in 2022.

In its new lawsuit, Ben & Jerry's says Unilever violated the terms of that settlement, which has remained confidential.

The lawsuit revealed that the settlement agreement stipulates that Unilever is required to “respect and appreciate the primary responsibility of Ben & Jerry’s independent board of directors with respect to Ben & Jerry’s social mission.”

“Ben & Jerry’s has tried on four occasions to speak out in support of peace and human rights… Unilever has silenced all of these efforts,” the lawsuit added.

Ben & Jerry's said in the lawsuit that it tried to call for a ceasefire, support students protesting on U.S. campuses over the killing of civilians in Gaza, and call for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, but Unilever blocked it.

The lawsuit says the independent board spoke out separately about some of these matters, but the company was silenced.

Ben & Jerry's said Peter ter Kolff, president of Unilever's ice cream division, said he was concerned about "a continuing perception of anti-Semitism" regarding the ice cream maker expressing its views on Gaza refugees, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also says that under the settlement agreement, Unilever is required to make payments totaling $5 million to Ben & Jerry's so that the brand can make donations to human rights groups of its choosing.

Ben & Jerry's chose the left-leaning Jewish Voice for Peace, the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other organizations.

The lawsuit said Unilever objected to the choices in August, saying Jewish Voice for Peace was "strongly critical of the Israeli government."

Ben & Jerry's has positioned itself as a community-conscious company since it was founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in a renovated gas station in 1978. It maintained that mission after being acquired by Unilever in 2000.

In March, Unilever said it would separate its ice cream business, which includes Ben & Jerry's, from the rest of the group by the end of 2025 to simplify its portfolio.