The Tánaiste’s call for an EU-wide travel ban on violent Jewish settlers must be extended to include extremist members of the Israeli government, according to Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon.
Deputy Gannon, who is the party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, said:
“Last month, the Tánaiste said he would be calling for sanctions to be applied against terrorist settlers in the West Bank. He went even further by stating that Ireland would be prepared to act unilaterally and introduce our own travel ban if the EU failed to agree on sanctions against these settlers.
“While any such measures would be welcome, they need to be extended to those members of the Israeli government who have been spreading vile hate speech and espousing further illegal encroachments into Palestinian territories in the West Bank, Gaza and elsewhere.
“These include senior Israeli government figures such as finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
“It is extremely disappointing that the Tánaiste refused to commit to extending any EU or Irish travel ban to these individuals, or other extremists within the Israeli government, when I raised this matter with him in the Dáil today.
“Yet again, the Irish Government is failing to match its words with action when it comes to the brutal conflict in Gaza and Israel’s continued persecution of the Palestinian people.”
February 1, 2024