Latest news with #tradeBan
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Ireland moves to ban trade with Israeli-occupied territories
Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin speaks during an event with President Donald Trump in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) DUBLIN, Ireland — 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... It is the government's view that this is an obligation under international law,' a foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP. Before the cabinet decision, Foreign Minister Simon Harris told reporters he hoped other EU countries would follow Ireland's lead.
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Irish government to unveil bill banning imports from occupied Palestinian territories
The Irish government is to unveil a bill to ban imports from the occupied Palestinian territories in the first move by an EU member to curtail trade in goods produced in Israeli settlements illegal under international law. Simon Harris, the tánaiste (deputy prime minister), confirmed he would unveil draft legislation on Tuesday. 'Given the scale and gravity of what we're now seeing with the deprivation of aid and the bombardment of Gaza … this is an appropriate course of action to take,' he told the Financial Times on Monday. The settlements include residential, agricultural and business interests in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that lie outside Israel's internationally recognised borders. The law would make it a criminal offence to import goods originating from the occupied territories but would not result in a boycott on Israeli goods. A ban on exports from the occupied territories is seen as symbolic, as trade is limited to physical products such as dates, oranges, olives and some timber and was worth just €685,000 (£575,000) in the four years from 2020 to 2024. The move comes just days after the EU said it would review its 1995 trade agreement with Israel after a Dutch proposal – similar to a rejected demand put forward by Ireland and Spain in February 2024 – was made to the European Commission. 'This is a massive welcome step, it is the first time a trade measure of this kind has been applied to Israel by any EU country. 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,' said Conor O'Neill, the head of advocacy and policy at Christian Aid Ireland, who helped shape the original draft of the legislation in 2018 with the independent senator Frances Black. Trade is an EU competency but there are exceptional circumstances in which member states can restrict it. Ireland is basing the legality of its move on a judgment by the international court of justice last year which said countries should 'take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories'. The European Commission said it was unable to comment on a proposal it had not yet received, but would offer 'factual positions' once such a bill had been enacted by the Irish parliament and transmitted to Brussels. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion The bill is expected to go through the committee stage this summer and could become law within the year. 'We want to do something impactful … but the European Union acting collectively would have a much more profound impact,' Harris said.
Irish Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Attorney General ‘raised no issue' with banning services from illegal Israeli settlements - O'Gorman
The Attorney General did not raise an issue with banning services from illegal Israeli settlements, Roderic O'Gorman has said. The Green Party leader, who was a minister in the last coalition, said that Government claims of a legal issue with banning services was 'a delaying tactic'. It comes as the Government is examining legislation that would ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands. But Tánaiste Simon Harris has said that while there is a legal 'pathway' to ban goods, there is an issue with banning services from the occupied territories. READ MORE Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, Mr O'Gorman said that passing the Occupied Territories Bill would 'reverberate internationally'. 'It would be a really significant change in approach, and I have real concerns about this attempt now to create a distinction between goods and services,' Mr O'Gorman said. 'The Attorney General last July provided a very detailed assessment of Senator Frances Black's Bill, raised some issues, legitimate issues that can be addressed by amendment. 'There was no reference to an issue around services in his very detailed legal advice. 'This is a new issue that has been brought in subsequent to the general election, a general election where Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael made extensive commitments about passing the Occupied Territories Bill and, to my mind, it's a delaying tactic. 'The Government have said they will publish a draft before summer, they haven't promised to pass it. 'This is about kicking the can down the road,' Mr O'Gorman said, adding that the Bill could be passed by the summer 'if there was the will'. Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton said the Government was 'certainly not doing that' and referred to 'issues around the constitutionality and the legal limitations' of the Bill. 'This is not a policy difference – I want to be very clear – around goods and services, this is about ensuring that we get that legislation right,' she said. Mr Harris said during the week that there is 'a narrow pathway', based on an advisory opinion from the UN's top court, to legislate on banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said countries should 'take steps to prevent trade or investment relations' that maintain Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, which it deemed illegal. Mr Harris said during the week that the Government had 'not yet been able to identify the narrow pathway on services, that's the truth'. 'It's not a policy position. It's a legal position,' he said. Ms Black, who first introduced the Bill in 2018, said she would 'not be happy' with a Bill that only banned the trade of goods. Speaking at a neutrality event in Dublin on Saturday, she said she wanted the Government to stick to its commitment to pass the Bill before the Dáil's summer recess. '[Simon Harris] said that he was open to investigating [banning services] and to looking at it so it will be up to us to show them that it is legal,' she said. 'We have had lots of lawyers who have looked at this and said 100 per cent, there is no doubt about it, it is legal.' Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald also said her party would not accept a Bill that does not include a ban on services. She said action is needed to prevent the starvation and killing in Gaza , and 'Ireland needs to lead'. 'To cite legal concerns at this stage when this has gone on for so long, this legislation has been on the cards for so very long, to start now saying that they are coming up with legal blocks really isn't acceptable – and if there are legal concerns, publish your advice,' she said on Saturday. – PA
BreakingNews.ie
11-05-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Attorney General ‘raised no issue' with services ban with Israeli settlements
The Attorney General did not raise an issue with banning services from illegal Israeli settlements, Roderic O'Gorman has said. The Green Party leader, who was a minister in the last coalition, said that government claims of a legal issue with banning services was 'a delaying tactic'. Advertisement The Government is examining legislation that would ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands. But Tánaiste Simon Harris has said that while there is a legal 'pathway' to ban goods, there is an issue with banning services from the occupied territories. Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, Mr O'Gorman said that passing the Occupied Territories Bill would 'reverberate internationally'. 'It would be a really significant change in approach, and I have real concerns about this attempt now to create a distinction between goods and services,' he said. Advertisement 'The Attorney General last July provided a very detailed assessment of Senator Frances Black's bill, raised some issues, legitimate issues that can be addressed by amendment. 'There was no reference to an issue around services in his very detailed legal advice. 'This is a new issue that has been brought in subsequent to the general election, a general election where Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael made extensive commitments about passing the Occupied Territories Bill and, to my mind, it's a delaying tactic. 'The Government have said they will publish a draft before summer, they haven't promised to pass it.' Advertisement 'This is about kicking the can down the road,' he added, adding that the Bill could be passed by the summer 'if there was the will'. Tánaiste Simon Harris said the matter was a 'legal position', not a policy position (Brian Lawless/PA) Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton said the Government was 'certainly not doing that' and referred to 'issues around the constitutionality and the legal limitations' of the Bill. 'This is not a policy difference – I want to be very clear – around goods and services, this is about ensuring that we get that legislation right,' she said. Tnáaiste Simon Harris said during the week that there is 'a narrow pathway', based on an advisory opinion from the UN's top court, to legislate on banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements. Advertisement The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said countries should 'take steps to prevent trade or investment relations' that maintain Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, which it deemed illegal. Mr Harris said during the week that the Government had 'not yet been able to identify the narrow pathway on services, that's the truth'. 'It's not a policy position. It's a legal position,' he said. Independent Senator Frances Black, who first introduced the Bill to the Irish Parliament in 2018, said she would 'not be happy' with a Bill that only banned the trade of goods. Advertisement Speaking at a neutrality event in Dublin on Saturday, she said she wanted the Government to stick to its commitment to pass the Bill before the Parliament's summer recess. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald also said her party would not accept a Bill that does not include a ban on services (Liam McBurney/PA) '(Simon Harris) said that he was open to investigating (banning services) and to looking at it so it will be up to us to show them that it is legal. 'We have had lots of lawyers who have looked at this and said 100 per cent, there is no doubt about it, it is legal.' Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald also said her party would not accept a Bill that does not include a ban on services. She said action is needed to prevent the starvation and killing in Gaza, and 'Ireland needs to lead'. 'To cite legal concerns at this stage when this has gone on for so long, this legislation has been on the cards for so very long, to start now saying that they are coming up with legal blocks really isn't acceptable – and if there are legal concerns, publish your advice,' she said on Saturday.
