The Irish government approved a draft law prohibiting the import of Israeli settlement products, all of which are considered illegal entities in the eyes of the international community, in an unprecedented step for a member state of the European Union.
“The government has agreed to move forward in legislation prohibiting the trade of goods with illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and the government is considered a commitment under international law.”
The Irish parliament must vote on this ban, which constitutes a symbolic step, which includes commodities such as fruits, vegetables and wood, and will not include the field of services, such as tourism or information technology.
In the period between 2020 and 2024, the volume of trade between Ireland and the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel was less than a million euros.
“I hope that when this small European country makes this decision and certainly becomes the first Western country to set legislation in this way, this will deny other European countries to join us,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris told reporters.
A parliamentary committee will study the Irish government’s plan next June, and deputies will vote on the final version in the fall.
In this decision, Ireland is based on an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July 2024.
In May 2024, Ireland, Spain and Norway announced the recognition of the Palestinian state and joined by Slovenia a month later, prompting Israel to take revenge measures.
Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris is considering the possibility of recognition of the Palestinian state in early June.
The Irish government’s decision comes a week after the European Union’s decision to review the partnership agreement signed between it and Israel in 1995, which constitutes a framework for relations, especially the commercial between the two parties.
Connor O’Neill, an official at the “Christian Ed Irland” organization, told Agence France -Presse that this Irish law will be the first “meaningful commercial action” ever within the European Union and “a welcome step.”
