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The Irish Senate will vote Wednesday on a bill to boycott products from settlements in the West Bank, and despite the Irish government's prediction that the bill will not be pbaded, it is now widely expected to do so. .
The bill would prohibit "the importation and sale of goods, services and natural resources from illegal settlements in the occupied territories".
Earlier this year, a vote on the bill was delayed at the request of the Irish government. The government, at the request of Israel, then sought to soften the language but failed to find a compromise.
Now, the bill should be pbaded, thanks to the votes of opposition MPs and independents. Senator Frances Black, the independent who sponsored the bill, recently released a video urging the Irish to put pressure on their representatives for them to support it.
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The vote was originally scheduled to take place in January, but was postponed after the Foreign Ministry summoned Ireland's ambbadador to Israel, Alison Kelly, and demanded an explanation. The ministry was acting at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Kelly told Rodica Radian-Gordon, head of the ministry's Europe office, that the bill was sponsored by independent legislators but was opposed by the Irish government. She also insisted that the bill was not a BDS proposal, but simply called for a boycott of settlements.
Netanyahu, however, did not accept this argument. In a statement issued by his office, he added that the bill "gives wind to those who seek to boycott Israel and is totally against the law." principles of free trade and justice. "
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In a recent interview with television journalist Yaakov Ahimeir, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said he was considering opposing the bill. He said that he had told his sponsors that trade matters fell within the competence of the European Union, and that Ireland should not therefore act unilaterally on this issue. He also said that he did not expect the bill to pbad.
But three opposition parties – Labor, Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail – announced that they would support the bill, as did several independents. Therefore, the bill should now be pbaded in spite of the government's predictions.
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