New poll reveals shift in attitude to law that would ban goods from illegal Israeli settlements

The Journal

3 days ago

AROUND ONE-IN-three people believe that a new law that would ban Ireland from importing goods from illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine should be passed quickly.
Another 14% believe the scope of the law should be expanded to ban services which originate from settlements, while one-in-five people believe the law should be approved as soon as possible.
The findings were contained in an Ipsos B&A poll published by
The Irish Times
today, which canvassed opinions on the Occupied Territories Bill.
The bill, a version of which was originally proposed in 2018, seeks to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine. It is being discussed at the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee to determine whether services should be added to the bill.
The Irish Times poll found that over half of people are either not in favour of passing the law, or would prefer for the government to take more time to probe the consequences of passing it.
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It comes after commercial lobbyist Ibec this week warned of the ban's economic impact.
Most people have become hesitant over the quick implementation of the law. An overwhelming majority of people, 74%, are in favour of passing the bill – but a high minority of people, 38%, also said they want more scrutiny of it.
According to the newspaper's commissioned poll, 17% of people did not know their stance or had no opinion, while only 10% of people were not in favour of the law.
This week saw the
US ambassador to Israel
, American politicians,
Israeli-relations lobby groups
and business representatives warn of the potential impacts or retaliation that Ireland could face as a result of the trade ban.
The government has said that it welcomes all views and opinions to the pre-legislative discussions, it
does not intend to roll back on its promise to deliver the legislation
- despite a push from the opposition benches that it is taking too long.
The poll was conducted through face-to-face sampling through 1,200 interviews on 14 and 15 July. The accuracy is estimated at plus or minus 2.8%.
A list of companies who operate in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and facilitate with the ongoing occupation of Palestinian land in the West Bank and the wide Israeli settlement movement, was
published by the UN
in 2020.
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