The government must enact the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) without delay following today\u2019s finding by the Foreign Affairs Committee that there is no legal impediment to including services, as well as goods, in the legislation, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson.<\/p>\n
Senator Stephenson said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe committee\u2019s report, published today, clearly demonstrates that for Ireland to be fully compliant with the International Court of Justice\u2019s advisory opinion \u2013 which states that Israel\u2019s continued presence in occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and countries like ours should not support the maintenance of those settlements \u2013 services must also be included in the Bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe report provides powerful evidence of a strong legal pathway for the government to pass a Bill which includes both goods and services. So much so, in fact, that the committee agreed on a cross-party basis that any potential legal challenges should not be legitimate grounds for the removal of services from the OTB.<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland has a real chance to be bold and brave \u2013 and to lead by example. There are countries in Europe and globally that will be closely watching what we do over the next few weeks. This is an opportunity for Ireland to take a strong moral stance in the face of genocide, a stance which says we will not continue to support illegally occupied settlements in Palestine through trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce enacted, this Bill could be the template for other countries to follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of the Attorney General’s advice, which, unacceptably, we still await, the recommendations of the committee\u2019s report are clear. It has been informed by the significant testimony and submissions we received from eminent EU and international lawyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur conclusion is that there is no legal impediment to this Bill including services. The government should not shy away from Ireland being a test case for this legislation if challenged through an EU court.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the face of ongoing genocide in Gaza and Israel\u2019s continued illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, Ireland now has an opportunity to show leadership on the world stage. It is an opportunity we should not squander.\u201d<\/p>\n
July 31, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The government must enact the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) without delay following today\u2019s finding by the Foreign Affairs Committee that there is no legal impediment to including services, as well as goods, in the legislation, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson. Senator Stephenson said: \u201cThe committee\u2019s report, published today, clearly demonstrates that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[529,718,595,641,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaza","category-israel","category-occupied-territories-bill","category-patricia-stephenson","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n