Harris to bring Occupied Territories Bill to Cabinet amid calls to suspend EU-Israel deal
Displaced Palestinians bake bread at a tent camp in Gaza City on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Tánaiste Simon Harris has confirmed he will bring a redrafted Occupied Territories Bill to Cabinet next week, amid growing political and public pressure over the war in Gaza.
Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Harris said the general scheme of the bill is “well progressed” within the Department of Foreign Affairs and will be presented to ministers shortly.
During a debate on the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Mr Harris backed Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s call for the immediate suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
“We will do everything we possibly can to let the Palestinian people know that they are seen, that they are heard and they are not forgotten,” Mr Harris said.
“We will continue to represent the convictions of the people of this country and the democratic values on which this State was built.
“We will continue to fight for peace and for an end to the barbaric cruelty being endured by the people of Gaza by an Israeli Government engaged in war crimes.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the Israeli bombardment of Gaza as “an affront to human decency” and said it is time for the EU to act.
“It is without mercy, or compassion or a shared sense of humanity. It has to stop,” Mr Martin said.
“It is without mercy, or compassion or a shared sense of humanity. It has to stop,” he told the Dáil, accusing Israel of having abandoned “all human rights.”
He criticised the “dribble of aid” being allowed into Gaza, calling it “completely inadequate,” and claimed the weaponisation of aid by Israel amounts to a breach of international humanitarian law.
Responding to Cork North Central TD Pádraig O’Sullivan, Mr Martin said he believed the EU should suspend the deal due to breaches of human rights clauses by Israel.
“All human rights have been abandoned. The weaponization of aid is appalling and constitutes, in my view, a breach of international humanitarian law, that there is no doubt,” Mr Martin said.
“You know, the latitude that has been given to Israel is very regrettable over the last year, and there should have been a ceasefire, a sustained ceasefire a long time ago.”
“People are appalled at the slaughter of innocent children,” he added.
He called for a high-profile political delegation and international media presence to visit Gaza in order to increase global pressure on Israel.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald accused Israel of committing collective punishment against Palestinians in Gaza.
“The siege is continuing. Not an ounce of food, not a drop of water has been distributed,” she said.
“Their actions are not simply wrong. They are criminal. They are genocidal.”
Sinn Féin TD Johnny Mythen went further, describing the Israeli Government as “the Nazis of the modern world.”
Meanwhile, despite reports that humanitarian trucks were allowed into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing on Tuesday, aid agencies say relief has yet to reach those most in need.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that while aid had technically entered Gaza, logistical delays and restrictions meant none of it had been distributed.
“Workers ran out of time after being forced to reload supplies onto different trucks by the Israeli military,” he said.
Internal aid group memos on Wednesday confirmed that 65 trucks had passed from the Israeli side to the Palestinian side but had not moved beyond the crossing.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said its workers waited for hours to collect and distribute aid on Tuesday but were unable to proceed.
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