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‘No more time to waste’
Ireland should pass the Occupied Territories Bill
urgently, says civil society campaign
Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill welcomes change in Government position, but urges Coalition parties to progress the Bill before an election.
A coalition of over 35 civil society organisations, trade unions, academics and political figures has urged the Government to move quickly in light of the updated Attorney General’s advice, and to pass the Occupied Territories Bill before a general election is held. The decision by the Government to formally refer the Bill to next Stage, into the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, is a step in the right direction – but that must happen immediately.
The Bill, first tabled in 2018 by Independent Senator Frances Black, would ban trade with the illegal Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian land. Both the Dáil and the Seanad have already voted in favour of the Bill, but despite this the current and previous Governments have refused to pass it based on advice from previous Attorneys General that it would breach EU law.
However, updated legal advice delivered this week from the current Attorney General, Rossa Fanning, has now given the green light for the passage of the Bill. The updated AG advice draws heavily on the historic International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion delivered in July, which found that the Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land were illegal and that all countries were obliged not to trade with them.
Civil society organisations have been calling on the Government to pass the Occupied Territories Bill for over six years. If passed, Ireland would become the first Western country to ban trade with the illegal Israeli settlements, which are considered the key driver of poverty and a host of human rights violations against Palestinians and the main impediment to their right to self-determination.
As Israel continues its military offensive across the occupied Palestinian territory and more recently Lebanon, the Campaign to Pass the OTB is calling on the Irish Government to pass the Bill before an election is held, and to hold Israel accountable for its flagrant disregard for international law and civilian life. This would build on the leadership shown when Ireland became the first Western country to ban imports from Apartheid South Africa in 1987. Within a few years, most other Western countries followed suit, precipitating the end of South Africa’s Apartheid regime.
Caoimhe de Barra, CEO of Trócaire, and a spokesperson for the Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill, said: “The Government’s change in position is welcome, but Palestinians cannot wait until after the Irish general election for Israel to be held accountable for its war crimes. Today in the Northern Gaza Strip, civilians are being left to die under the rubble of their own homes, and face starvation due to dwindling humanitarian supplies as a result of the Israeli armed forces’ siege. We are calling on the Government to ensure this Bill is enacted before the forthcoming elections in Ireland. This will put Ireland in a leadership role, as it was with Apartheid South Africa, in bringing about effective trade sanctions that will clearly state to Israel, you must respect international law and end this unlawful occupation of Palestinian land and war on the Palestinian people.”
Conor O’Neill, Head of Policy at Christian Aid Ireland and a spokesperson for the Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill said: “This is a big moment, because the key legal barrier blocking the Occupied Territories Bill has just fallen. As we have argued for six years, there is no legal impediment to passage of this legislation. The historic ICJ opinion in July made it crystal clear, and the updated Attorney General advice has now given Government the green light to pass it. If we need to make small changes or technical amendments to strengthen and improve then it we can, but that work should begin immediately. There’s no reason not to make progress before an election.”
Éamonn Meehan, Chair of Sadaka-the Ireland Palestine Alliance, and a spokesperson for the Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill, said:“We welcome the announcement by the Government that passing the Occupied Territories bill is lawful. For more than seventy-five years the people of Palestine have been attacked, driven from their homes and lands, killed with impunity and denied their basic rights to equality and self-determination. It is finally time for us to accept that we cannot, legally or morally, continue to trade with the 750,000 illegal settlers and their enterprises who enrich themselves and Israel from the stolen resources of Palestine and who at the same time impoverish millions of Palestinians in their own land. We strongly encourage the public to keep pushing until the bill is passed and we expect every political party will now support getting this essential legislation through before the elections.”
Owen Reidy, General Secretary, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said: “Thousands of trade union members have been taking to the streets with many others for over a year now drawing attention to the slaughter and ongoing genocide in Gaza with more than 40,000 people killed, including women and children. It is our strongly held view that as a result of the recent ICJ ruling, we cannot continue to trade with settlements and that it is imperative that the Government agrees to progress the Occupied Territories Bill and get it through Dáil before the election.”
ENDS
For media interviews contact Niamh McCarthy, 0863767533 niamh.mccarthy@trocaire.org
Notes for Editors
• The Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill is made up of over 35 civil society organisations, trade unions, academics and political figures including Senator Frances Black, Christian Aid Ireland, Trócaire, Sadaka-the Ireland Palestine Alliance, Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Action Aid Ireland, Amnesty International Ireland, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).
• The Occupied Territories Bill was first tabled by Senator Frances Black and would ban trade with the illegal settlements Israel has built on occupied Palestinian land. A copy of the bill, as well as a short briefing note on the its main provisions, is available here: http://www.francesblack.ie/single-post/settlement-goods
• The Bill was passed in full by the Seanad in December 2018. It was then brought by Fianna Fáil into Dáil Éireann, where a strong majority also voted in favour in January 2019, but was blocked by the then minority Fine Gael Government.
• The Bill was supported by every other political party and included in the 2020 general election manifestos of both Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, but omitted from the negotiated Programme for Government at Fine Gael’s insistence. It remains stalled at ‘Second Stage’ in the Dáil, but it could be quickly passed into law with support from this or the next Government.
• There are now more than 750,000 Israeli settlers living in over 140 illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian territory in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In addition, there are a further 191 illegal settler outposts with 23 of those established in 2023 alone. Before the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, which was supposed to deliver an Independent Palestinian State on this territory, the number of illegal settlers was less than 150,000.
