The imposing of a travel ban on Israel’s most far-right ministers must be only the beginning of Ireland’s actions to sanction Netanyahu’s rogue government, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson.
Senator Stephenson said:
“Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are the embodiment of everything that is evil about Israel’s genocidal regime – it goes without saying that they are not welcome in Ireland.
“While this action is a step in the right direction, it is a purely symbolic gesture and should not distract from what we must do to effectively sanction Israel.
“To start, the Government must reverse its decision to proceed with Ireland’s scheduled Nations League fixture against Israel in October. Senior ministers have been talking out of both sides of their mouth on this issue, saying they support the FAI’s decision for the game to go ahead while announcing their intention to boycott it.
“It is unconscionable that we would legitimise the Israeli regime by engaging with them for the purpose of sport while it commits unbridled genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
“On June 10, the Social Democrats will use its private members’ time to bring forward a Dáil motion demanding the Government withdraw its support for this game.
“While this issue requires our attention now, we cannot forget the bigger picture: the Government must reverse its omission of a ban on services from the Occupied Territories Bill before it is enacted.
“We have a legal obligation to ban trade with illegal territories – and trade includes goods and services. This is the very least that the Government should be doing.
“It’s time the Taoiseach stops announcing the bare minimum, and framing it as a significant effort, while Palestinians continue to be slaughtered indiscriminately by a rogue state.”
June 5, 2026