Sinn Féin MEP and Member of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade Lynn Boylan has urged the government to enact the Occupied Territories Bill in the first weeks of the new Dáil and to face down intimidation from both Israel and the United States.

MEP Boylan said:

“It is shameful that just weeks after the election, Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty is outlining reasons to not go ahead with the Occupied Territories Bill.

“During the election, government parties gave commitments that they would ensure the bill would be passed – this smacks of a climbdown.

“We must be really clear that the historic Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice last July established that the occupation of Palestine is illegal and that states are under an obligation not to engage in trade which entrenches the occupation.

“Israel is carrying out a genocide in Gaza and the Occupied Territories Bill would let Ireland play their own part in taking reasonable measures to prevent genocide, and send a strong message internationally that we respect international law.

“At the EU Trade Committee, I have pushed the EU to impose sanctions and suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement but given the unwillingness of the EU to act, Member States must take strong unilateral action.

“A number of EU law experts have pointed out that the bill is fully compliant with EU law and have cited Article 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 24(2) of the Importance Regulation as grounds for any EU Member State taking action.

“At the Delegation to Palestine – which I chair – we have heard from civil society and legal experts that the Occupied Territories Bill would send a strong message that Ireland is not willing to carry on business as usual amidst the illegal occupation and ongoing genocide.

“Others who want to try and scupper this legislation are citing Anti-BDS laws in the United States. These laws mainly apply to public bodies – not private firms who invest in Ireland and only last August the federal district court in Kansas preliminarily blocked enforcement of an anti-BDS law.

“We cannot claim to stand on the side of International law if this commitment buckles at the first mention of FDI.

“The Occupied Territories Bill has been debated since 2018, there can be no more delays or excuses from the Irish Government. The bill must be passed.”