Letters to the Editor: Time to enact Occupied Territories Bill

It merely seeks to ban produce from the illegal West Bank settlements, rather than from Israel - a very modest proposal

Palestinians farmers Muhammad Sabah, and Salim Sabah, and Armagh’s All-Ireland winner and professional counsellor Oisín McConville, look out to the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma'aleh Rehavam, south of Bethlehem in the West Bank. Due to a successful legal action through a Trócaire project, Muhammed and Salim were able to enter their agricultural land, after being denied access by Israeli settlers for over 18 years.  Photo: Garry Walsh/Trócaire.

It is time for Dáil Éireann to enact the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) without further delay. And it is time to stop talking about peace without justice in Palestine.

The bill, proposed by senator Frances Black, was passed overwhelmingly in Seanad Éireann on December 5, 2018. It was supported by Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, the Green Party, and a number of Independents. The bill simply calls for a ban on the importation of goods from illegal settlements in any occupied territories.