The Israeli government\u2019s intention to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank underscores the importance of Ireland enacting the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) without further delay, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson.<\/p>\n
Senator Stephenson said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe approval of the E1 project, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, represents another brazen breach of international law by Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cEfforts to end this decades-long conflict have been predicated on a two-state solution. However, plans by Netanyahu\u2019s government to \u2018erase\u2019 the concept of a Palestinian state through further illegal encroachments will jeopardise attempts to achieve long-term peace in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe international community must prevent this plan from being implemented because the very existence of Palestine depends on it. The forcible displacements of Palestinians from their land, both in the West Bank and Gaza, amounts to ethnic cleansing and must be recognised as such.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe latest escalation of this conflict, including the brutal offensive on Gaza City by Israeli forces, highlights why the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill is more urgent than ever. Slovenia recently became the first EU country to introduce a ban on the importation of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements. Ireland must now do the same, while also including a ban on services.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf countries had acted sooner to ban trade with the occupied territories, perhaps the Israeli government would not have felt emboldened to act with such impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
August 21, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Israeli government\u2019s intention to expand illegal settlements in the West Bank underscores the importance of Ireland enacting the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) without further delay, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson. Senator Stephenson said: \u201cThe approval of the E1 project, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[529,595,641,7,732],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaza","category-occupied-territories-bill","category-patricia-stephenson","category-press-release","category-west-bank"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n