It’s utterly unconscionable that the government has reduced the Occupied Territories Bill to a toothless shadow of itself by removing the ban on services, according to Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson Patricia Stephenson.
Senator Stephenson said:
“It’s deeply disappointing but perhaps unsurprising that there is no mention of banning services in the government’s limp iteration of the Occupied Territories Bill.
“The Tánaiste continues to cite vague legal reasons for omitting a services ban despite the plethora of legal advice we have received from legal experts who have said not only is its inclusion legal, it is our duty to do so in accordance with the ruling from the International Court of Justice.
“An open letter to the government, signed by more than 400 senior legal academics and lawyers, also stated there is no legal impediment to enacting the legislation.
“The government has yet to provide a credible reason for omitting services from the Bill and its exclusion is a grave undermining of the will of the Irish people.
“The vast majority of Ireland’s trade with the occupied territories is in the form of services – legislating for goods alone is not a sufficient sanction of the Israeli government’s barbaric actions.
“We need to see this Bill enacted in the form put forward by Senator Francis Black as a matter of urgency, even if this means working through the summer to do so.
“If we are to proceed with this watered-down husk of legislation, we will fail to send a strong enough message to our European counterparts to commit to real action in ending Israel’s crimes in Palestine.”
25th June, 2025