Ireland has become the first country in Europe to introduce legislation to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Irish Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced, following the publication of his new bill.
According to The Jerusalem Post the General Scheme of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill has already been approved by the Government, but will now pass on to the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for Pre-Legislative Scrutiny.
According to the statement, the Irish government’s commitment to the prohibition on imports from Israeli settlements came after the International Court of Justice delivered its Advisory Opinion on July 19, 2024.
As soon as the scheme is implemented, any imports will become an offence under the Customs Act 2015, and customs will be able to search, seize, and confiscate the goods. Harris added that the scheme intended to use the Israeli settlement postal code system currently employed by the EU in order to differentiate Israeli goods from settlement goods.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this Government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
