Occupied Territories Bill to be debated in the Dáil next week

The Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) will be debated at second stage for 3.5 hours, after receiving Cabinet approval last week. Picture: Leah Farrell 

The Occupied Territories Bill will be debated in the Dáil on Wednesday of next week.

The Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) will be debated at second stage for 3.5 hours, after receiving Cabinet approval last week. 

The bill will ban trade between Ireland and Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank. 

Under international law, such settlements from Israel are illegal as they violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee has said she wants to see the bill enacted before the Oireachtas summer recess next month, but the opposition has roundly criticised the bill for its omission of services.

In the Dáil last week, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that decision put Ireland on the "wrong side of history".

"Excluding services and pushing forward with hollowed-out legislation is a cop-out and a dangerous one. It can't happen. The people of Palestine, of Gaza, slaughtered, besieged, brutalised, and starved, look to Ireland for support, and we simply cannot turn our backs," she said.

Labour's Duncan Smith said the bill, as it stands, would be merely symbolic.

"Leaving services out would seriously undermine the impact and credibility of this bill. 

"Companies operating in Ireland cannot be allowed to continue providing tech services, tourism services or other forms of commercial support to illegal settlements while Government claims to be taking a stand for international law and human rights. 

"If services are excluded, the Bill risks becoming symbolic rather than effective."

However, the Government has defended its position with Taoiseach Micheál Martin saying that the opposition had "distorted" the Government's stance on the issue.

He said the opposition is guilty of "shallow rhetoric" and "sloganeering". 

He said the ban would affect about €200,000 of imported fruit and vegetables.

"There is an issue in terms of what will happen if services were included in terms of our own jobs in this country, and potential attacks on multinationals who are based here, that is the reality. 

"I don't mind, people can dismiss that. I don't dismiss it. I have to protect about 250,000 jobs in this country too," Mr Martin said last week.

After bringing the bill to Cabinet, Ms McEntee said Ireland had "continually advocated for a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and has consistently sought to progress implementation of the two-state solution".

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, meanwhile, said distinctions between services and products have "no legal basis".