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The upper house of the Irish Parliament on Wednesday introduced legislation that would criminalize the importation or sale of goods produced in settlements in the West Bank.
After a debate on some of its wording, the Economic Activity Control (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 moved from the third stage, called the committee phase, to the fourth phase, the so-called report stage.
However, the bill still has to overcome several obstacles before becoming law. After completing the fifth stage of the Irish Senate, he will then move to the lower house, known as Dáil Éireann, where he will have to spend five more rounds of debate before the president ratifies it.
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The next debate on the bill was scheduled for Tuesday.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry on Wednesday night declined to comment. But in private talks, Israeli officials appeared unmoved, saying the Dublin government would eventually prevent the law from coming into force, or even, if necessary, preventing it from making technical progress.
On Wednesday, independent Senator Frances Black, the sponsor of the bill, defended her bill against critics who claimed that it was inappropriate for a law to target Israel alone.
"We do not distinguish any state. No individual state is mentioned anywhere in this bill, "she said.
Senator Frances Black at a discussion between the Irish Senate and her bill on the prohibition of settlements property, November 28, 2018 (screenshot of the Irish Senate)
Black, a former Dublin singer who entered Parliament in 2016, acknowledged that she had long been interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but pointed out that her bill could also apply to the D & D. Other occupations, mentioning Western Sahara.
A deputy representing the government explained his opposition to the bill by saying that he "forces the government to do something that is not in his power", the ban on certain products being the exclusive prerogative of the European Union.
"Goods from Israeli settlements can only be excluded at the EU level," he said.
The bill – a bill from a deputy – states that importing or attempting to import goods from a regulation is a crime.
Similarly, those who "help another person import or attempt to import colony products" would commit a crime punishable by up to five years' imprisonment if the proposed law became law.
"The bill seeks to prohibit the importation and sale of goods, services and natural resources from illegal settlements in the occupied territories," Black said in a statement posted on his website on June 25. .
"Such settlements are illegal under international humanitarian law and Irish national law and result in human rights violations on the ground. Despite this, Ireland continues to provide economic support through trade in stand products. "
Although the bill does not mention Israel and the Palestinian territories, critics have claimed that it seems to have been written exclusively for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In July, after the bill pbaded the second stage in the Senate, Israel denounced the bill.
"The Irish Senate has supported a populist, dangerous and extremist anti-Israeli boycott initiative that undermines the chances of dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians. this will have a negative impact on the diplomatic process in the Middle East, "said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.
"The absurd initiative of the Irish Senate is absurd to undermine the livelihoods of many Palestinians working in the Israeli industrial areas affected by the boycott," said a statement released by ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon.
"Israel will review its response according to the evolution of the situation with respect to this legislation."
Palestinian workers on November 11, 2015 in a date packing plant in the Jordan Valley, West Bank. (Melanie Lidman / Times of Israel)
Palestinians celebrated the vote.
"This brave step builds on the historic ties between Ireland and Palestine and shows the way forward for the rest of the European Union," said Saeb Erekat, senior manager of the European Union. 39, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), in a statement issued before the vote.
"Today, the Irishman Seanad has sent a clear message to the international community and in particular to the rest of the European Union: the mere fact of speaking of the two-State solution is not enough, without concrete measures. Those who trade with Israeli settlements are complicit in the systematic denial of Palestinians' right to self-determination. "
The joint (Arabic) list also welcomed the bill, saying it hoped it would "mark the beginning of a new stage in which Israel would start paying a political, economic and moral price. for its actions ".
The adoption of the law would open "a new stage in the treatment of the Zionist lobby as a danger to the values that Europe claims to represent," said the Israeli Arab party.
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