Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Bay South Chris Andrews has described the abandonment of Fianna Fáil and the Green Party of the Occupied Territories Bill as ‘truly disappointing.’

He said:

“Sadly, both Fianna Fáil and the Green Party – who both supported the Occupied Territories Bill in the previous Dáil and Seanad terms – have abandoned it in negotiations for their Programme for Government.

“By banning goods from Israel’s illegal settlements in Palestine from entering the Irish market, Ireland has the opportunity to be a world leader in the fight against the injustice and apartheid being carried out daily against the Palestinian people.

“It is a sad state of affairs when the rights of Palestinians are regarded as expendable, and the continued violations of international human rights law are to be tolerated at the behest of Fine Gael. This is truly disappointing on the part of both Fianna Fáil and the Green Party.”