Former Minister Alan Shatter to address Committee opposing Occupied Territories Bill
He will be opposing the implementation of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025.
Speakers in favour of the bill, and in favour of extending the remit of the bill to include services, will also address the Committee. Ireland Palestine Chair Éamonn Meehan will say that the Bill is an appropriate legal measure to put in place.
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Shatter is expected to claim in his opening statements that the bill discriminates against Jewish people and is a sectarian measure based on falsehoods. He has long been a vocal opponent of the proposed legislation.
On the way into Cabinet this morning, Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris responded to a question on his reaction to comments made by Shatter on Newstalk Breakfast this morning in which he claimed that the OTB legislation was reminiscent of 'Nazi Germany legislation'.
'I'm not really sure I have one,' he told reporters. 'I'm much more concerned, rather than Alan Shatter… I'm much more concerned in stopping Israel killing children.'
In reaction to a statement that Shatter would be addressing the Oireachtas committee with those comments, Harris said: 'I wish him well.'
Includes reporting by Muiris O'Cearbhaill
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