Time for Government to strengthen Occupied Territories Bill and include services
Time for Government to strengthen Occupied Territories Bill and include services - The Labour Party
- UK set to go further and ban trade in goods and some services from illegal Israeli settlements
Labour foreign affairs spokesperson Duncan Smith TD has called on Government to urgently strengthen Ireland’s Occupied Territories Bill following confirmation that the UK Government is set to ban trade in goods and some services from illegal Israeli settlements. Deputy Smith said the UK move exposes the weakness of the Irish Government’s decision to exclude services from its legislation and called on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to act.
Deputy Smith said:
“The UK Government’s decision to ban trade in goods and some services from illegal Israeli settlements should be a wake-up call for the Irish Government. Ireland has rightly spoken up about Palestine and international law, but those words must now be matched by the strongest possible action.
“Labour has consistently argued that the Occupied Territories Bill must cover both goods and services. Government chose to exclude services despite calls from Labour, other opposition parties, and the recommendation of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee. Now the UK is preparing to go further than Ireland.
“Companies should not be able to provide technology, tourism, financial or other commercial services that help sustain illegal settlements while Ireland simultaneously condemns those settlements as violations of international law.
“Ireland has an opportunity with the EU Presidency and a responsibility to lead. The Irish people have shown extraordinary and consistent solidarity with the Palestinian people, and they expect Government to turn that solidarity into meaningful political and economic action.
“The UK move makes the Government’s position increasingly difficult to defend. If another major European economy can move to prohibit trade in goods and some services connected with illegal settlements, there is no credible reason for Ireland to settle for weaker legislation.”