There are “no plans” to drop the Occupied Territories Bill but the legislation is “not straightforward” and “we have to get this right”, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has said.
A report in the Irish Mail on Sunday had suggested that the legislation, aimed at banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements, is to be abandoned in light of the ceasefire in Gaza.
The current Coalition has promised to progress legislation prohibiting goods from Occupied Palestinian Territories.
In recent weeks, the Opposition has put pressure on the Government to progress the Bill and also ensure that trade in services is banned, as was proposed in the original Occupied Territories legislation put forward by Independent Senator Frances Black in 2018.
RM Block
There has been doubt raised recently that the Government’s legislation will include a trade ban on services, with Taoiseach Martin telling the Dáil he had been told it was “not implementable”.
Meanwhile, the Government has faced pressure not to proceed with the Bill from the United States. The State Department, the US foreign affairs office, confirmed last week it was opposed to the legislation.
A number of US states have legislation which punishes companies that comply with anti-Israel boycotts, including those that target illegal settlements. Lawmakers and others have warned that the Occupied Territories Bill would make it difficult for some multinationals to operate legally in both jurisdictions.
Ms McEntee was asked about whether the Bill will be dropped during an appearance on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics. She replied: “There are no plans to drop the Bill. I want to be very clear about that.”
She added that the Bill is “not straightforward”. Asked about the length of time it is taking to progress it and international efforts to oppose, she denied coming under pressure.
“The dogs on the street know that there are states across the US, a significant number of those, that have anti-boycott legislation. So that’s not a secret here, but that’s not our reason for where we are now,” she said.
She said no country in the world had done more to support Palestine, but added: “We have to get this right. I’m not going to introduce, nor is this Government going to introduce, legislation that won’t work, that isn’t appropriate, that can be challenged, but that also might have detrimental implications. So we have to balance this out.”
Speaking during the same broadcast Social Democrats TD Sinead Gibney said it is “hard” to accept the Government are working to get the Bill right “when it’s just been delays, delays, delays since the election.”
Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty said that the ceasefire in Gaza does not change the content of the Occupied Territories Bill saying: “This legislation was on the cards before the latest round of genocide and the brutality of the Israeli Government in relation to Gaza”.
He claimed: “There is no doubt about it that this Government is backtracking in relation to this legislation.
