Latest news with #IsraelSettlements
News24
28-05-2025
- Business
- News24
Ireland the ‘first country' to move toward banning trade with Israel occupied settlements
Ireland moved toward banning trade with Israeli settlements considered illegal. The ban would largely be symbolic. The government wants to pressure Israel over its occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. The Irish government approved on Tuesday the drafting of a bill to ban the import of goods from Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law, an unprecedented move for an EU member. The move comes after the International Court of Justice in 2024 said Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip was illegal under international law, in an advisory opinion the Irish government said guided its decision. 'The government has agreed to advance legislation prohibiting trade in goods with illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory,' a foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP. 'It is the government's view that this is an obligation under international law.' The settlements include residential, agricultural and business interests that lie outside Israel's internationally recognised borders. READ | 13 killed in Gaza as Spain calls for sanctions to stop Israel's 'senseless' war Before the cabinet decision, Foreign Minister Simon Harris told reporters he hoped other EU countries would follow Ireland's lead. 'What I hope today is when this small country in Europe makes the decision and becomes one of the first countries, and probably the first country, in the Western world to consider legislation in this space, I do hope it inspires other European countries to join us,' said Harris - also Irish deputy prime minister. Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP Last May, Ireland - along with Spain, Norway and, a month later, Slovenia - recognised the Palestinian state, drawing retaliatory moves from Israel. In April, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris might move to recognise a Palestinian state as early as June. Tuesday's move by Dublin comes a week after the EU ordered a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a cooperation deal signed in 1995 that forms the basis for trade ties with Israel. EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said 'a strong majority' of the 27 member states at a foreign ministers' meeting backed the move in a bid to pressure Israel. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP An Irish import ban would be symbolic and of minimal economic impact, as trade volumes with the territories - limited to goods such as fruit, vegetables and timber - were worth less than €1m ($1.1 million) between 2020 and 2024. It 'breaks a decades-long, failed deadlock at EU level of criticising the settlements as illegal and a barrier to peace on the one hand, while providing them with crucial economic support on the other', said Conor O'Neill, head of advocacy and policy at Christian Aid Ireland, who helped draft a previous version of the Irish legislation in 2018. 'After decades of saying and repeating that illegal settlements are totally illegal and that the EU is opposed to them, this is the first time that words are being matched with action,' O'Neill told AFP. The foreign ministry spokesperson said an update on the draft legislation would be brought to the government 'in the coming weeks'. The bill is not expected to pass into law before autumn.
Free Malaysia Today
27-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Ireland moves to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories
A mural expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza features in a neighbourhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Reuters pic) DUBLIN : The Irish government approved Tuesday the drafting of a bill to ban the import of goods from Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law, an unprecedented move for a European Union member. The move comes after the International Court of Justice last year said Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip was illegal under international law, in an advisory opinion the Irish government said guided its decision. 'The government has agreed to advance legislation prohibiting trade in goods with illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory,' a foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP. 'It is the government's view that this is an obligation under international law.' The settlements include residential, agricultural and business interests that lie outside Israel's internationally recognised borders. Before the cabinet decision, foreign minister Simon Harris told reporters he hoped other EU countries would follow Ireland's lead. 'What I hope today is when this small country in Europe makes the decision and becomes one of the first countries, and probably the first country, in the Western world to consider legislation in this space, I do hope it inspires other European countries to join us,' said Harris – also Irish deputy prime minister. Last May, Ireland – along with Spain, Norway and, a month later, Slovenia – recognised the Palestinian state, drawing retaliatory moves from Israel. Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris might move to recognise a Palestinian state as early as June. Tuesday's move by Dublin comes a week after the EU ordered a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a cooperation deal signed in 1995 that forms the basis for trade ties with Israel. EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said 'a strong majority' of the 27 member states at a foreign ministers' meeting backed the move in a bid to pressure Israel. An Irish import ban would be symbolic and of minimal economic impact, as trade volumes with the territories – limited to goods such as fruit, vegetables and timber – were worth less than one million euros (US$1.1 million) between 2020 and 2024. It 'breaks a decades-long, failed deadlock at EU level of criticising the settlements as illegal and a barrier to peace on the one hand, while providing them with crucial economic support on the other,' said Conor O'Neill, head of advocacy and policy at Christian Aid Ireland, who helped draft a previous version of the Irish legislation in 2018. 'After decades of saying and repeating that illegal settlements are totally illegal and that the EU is opposed to them, this is the first time that words are being matched with action,' O'Neill told AFP. The foreign ministry spokesperson said an update on the draft legislation would be brought to the government 'in the coming weeks'. The bill is not expected to pass into law before autumn.
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Tánaiste hopes other EU countries will join Ireland in planning ban on trade from occupied Palestinian territories
Tánaiste Simon Harris has said he hopes other European Union countries will join Ireland in planning to ban trade from illegally occupied Palestinian territories. Mr Harris, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, is today seeking Cabinet approval to draft legislation that would ban the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine. The current Government plans fall short of a ban on goods and services as first proposed by Independent senator Frances Black in 2018 in her Occupied Territories Bill . , though he also cautioned he does not want to pass a law that 'falls at the first legal hurdle'. READ MORE The campaign for the Occupied Territories Bill to be passed gained added impetus amid Israel's war in Gaza, which was prompted by the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Fifty-seven are still being held, about 20 of whom are assumed to be alive. More than 50,000 people have been killed as a result of the Israeli military operations since, said the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. [ Gaza aid foundation chief quits as Israeli air strikes kill dozens Opens in new window ] Last year the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are in breach of international law. The advisory opinion it issued led to the last Government here to seek new legal advice on the Occupied Territories Bill. On Tuesday Mr Harris said Ireland's proposed ban on trade with the illegally occupied territories is 'in line' with the ICJ advisory opinion. He said the Government's plans are 'in many ways [ ...] a small measure. 'But it is imperative on all countries to do all that we can to maximise the pressure and conditions to bring about a ceasefire because the scale of humanitarian disaster is almost unimaginable, is certainly unconscionable and certainly is a war crime. 'And what I hope today is when this small country in Europe takes the decision to become one of the very first countries – and probably the first country in the western world to consider legislation in this space I do hope it inspires other European countries to join us.' Mr Harris thanked Ms Black for her 'constructive engagement' with him on the issue of also banning services from illegal Israeli settlements. He said: 'Contrary to the misrepresentation of this by some in Opposition there isn't a policy difference. We're all equally appalled and sickened at what's happening in Gaza. It is a war crime, it is genocidal activity.' [ Why are Kneecap facing consequences when Israel is not? Opens in new window ] Also speaking to reporters before Cabinet, Taoiseach Micheál Martin put the planned legislation in the context of 'the ongoing horrors that are occurring in Gaza and the absolute need for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages and the end of the slaughter'. He said the 'indiscriminate bombing of innocent civilians and the killing of families and the destruction of entire households is beyond any moral compass'. 'There's an urgency on the entire world to put pressure on Israel to bring this war to an immediate end,' he said. Senator Black said she is 'very relieved to finally see some action' on the Bill she first proposed in 2018. She said it is 'horrible' to think of how many have suffered since. 'It would have been great if we had it done back then, but it's never too late to do the right thing and we need to see action urgently,' she told RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Tuesday.
BreakingNews.ie
27-05-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Occupied Territories Bill: Cabinet to approve drafting of law to curb trade with illegal settlements
Ireland is set to become the first EU country to limit trade with Israel's illegal settlements as the reworked Occupied Territories Bill is brought to the Cabinet by Tánaiste Simon Harris. Mr Harris will on Tuesday ask the Cabinet to approve the drafting of the general scheme of a Bill to ban the importation of goods from illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Advertisement The Fine Gael leader said last week he had a 'legal view' that including services in the Bill was not possible. It is understood the heads – a summary of each section of the legislation – are already at an advanced stage and will be published within a few weeks. They would then be sent to the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs for discussion before the end of June. Senator Frances Black told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that she was 'very relieved to finally see some action' on the Bill which she first proposed in 2018. She said it was an important step that the Bill was finally going to Cabinet. However, Ms Black said it was 'horrible' to think that so many people had continued to suffer since she first proposed the Bill in 2018. Advertisement 'It would have been great if we had it done back then, but it's never too late to do the right thing and we need to see action urgently. Ms Black said her team had published detailed legal advice 'from some of the most eminent lawyers in the world, making absolutely clear that we can include services in the legislation if the political will is there. 'Just last week, over 400 of Ireland's most high-profile lawyers wrote to Government saying we can do this. And the Tánaiste has said that he's open to being challenged on this. And he said he's no objection at all to include the services in the legislation if we can get the legal detail right and that is what the Dáil Foreign Affairs Committee has been asked to look at when the Bill goes through there in a few weeks.' The Bill could be 'done and dusted' by the autumn, she added, saying she would be willing for the Oireachtas to stay in session 'well into the summer' to get the Bill passed in full. Advertisement She said she had been working on the legislation for seven years and would love to see President Michael D Higgins sign it into law before he leaves office as 'he has played a blinder when it comes to Palestine.' Meanwhile, Sinn Féin's Mairead Farrell said goods and services needed to be included in the Bill. The Galway West TD told Newstalk radio that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had 'very clearly' said the settlements in the West Bank were illegal and that all trade must end with them. Fine Gael TD Barry Ward pointed out that the amount of trade between Ireland and the West Bank settlements was small at less than €200,000, and said the Bill was 'not going to stop a single bullet being fired in Gaza.' Advertisement Israel-Hamas War Nine of a doctor's 10 children killed in Israel's... Read More 'But the principle involved in this is hugely important,' he added. 'And that's why Simon Harris has massively accelerated this Bill since he became Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. And that is why the Government has committed to making it law.' Mr Ward said the Bill originally drafted by Ms Black was 'absolutely illegal' which was why a new Bill had to be drafted. 'The Government has committed to passing this law. There's no point in passing a law that is going to fall at the first hurdle in terms of any legal challenge. The reason that we can now do this, is not just because we want to, but because of the decision of the ICJ as a preliminary opinion that there is probably genocide happening in Gaza, and that's what empowers the Irish Government to actually make this legislation. It can only happen in relation, for example, to the West Bank. 'The Bill that Frances drafted applies to any illegal settlement anywhere in the world, including somewhere like Crimea or Western Sahara or wherever it might be. So it's important to remember that trade policy and trade legislation is extremely complex, and it takes time to put it together.'
