Ireland to advance bill suspending trade with Israeli settlements
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"Israel’s" starvation tactic in Gaza is one of the reasons for advancing the bill, with the Foreign Affairs Committee set to examine it in June.
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Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Harris speaks with the media as he arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024 (AP)
Ireland will move forward with legislation to suspend trade with Israeli firms based in the occupied Palestinian territories, as announced on Saturday by Simon Harris, the country’s tánaiste (deputy prime minister) and minister of foreign affairs, trade, and defense, Anadolu Agency reported.
Harris stated in an X post that the Irish government will pursue a formal decision on the legislation on Tuesday and expressed hope that the Committee on Foreign Affairs would start examining the bill in June.
Harris denounced the deliberate starvation of children and the weaponization of food during the ongoing Israeli blockade, which has blocked the entry of thousands of aid trucks, including those funded by Irish Aid for more than 6,000 Palestinians, into Gaza for over 80 days.
An update on Gaza and my plans to bring forward legislation on the occupied territories, the need for aid, including Irish funded aid to immediately enter Gaza and the need for the European Union to suspend the association agreement between the EU and Israel. pic.twitter.com/sFe8opp2Ns
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 24, 2025
“The world has to act and the world has not done nearly enough,” Harris stated, calling on global powers to bolster efforts to establish a ceasefire, release the captives, and allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Harris welcomed the European Union’s recent decision to review the EU-"Israel" Association Agreement, a move strongly backed by Ireland but argued that the review alone is inadequate, stating, “In my view, in the view of Ireland, it needs to be more than reviewed, it needs to be suspended because it cannot be business as usual whilst this is being carried out in Gaza.”
Harris accuses 'Israel' of genocidal acts
Three days ago, Harris accused "Israel" of "genocidal activity" and a "consistent pattern of war crimes" in Gaza.
During an interview for Newstalk radio, he claimed that recent statements and measures taken by Israeli officials demonstrate an intent to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza, which he characterized as ethnic cleansing.
“In light of the very clear comments that we’ve seen from the Israeli government in recent days, we’re very much now in the space of genocidal activity. I think that is just a statement of fact,” Harris stated, adding that there is a persistent pattern of war crimes and that the Israeli government has become openly explicit about its intentions in Gaza, abandoning any pretense.
'Israel' shuts down its Dublin Embassy
On May 15, the Israeli Foreign Ministry declared the closure of its embassy in Ireland, blaming the move on what it called Dublin's "extreme anti-Israeli policies," marking a significant deterioration in already tense bilateral relations.
"The decision to close Israel's embassy in Dublin was made in light of the extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The decision came after Ireland took multiple steps, such as officially recognizing a Palestinian state and backing an International Court of Justice (ICJ) case that accuses "Israel" of genocide in Gaza.
Throwing accusations of anti-Semitism, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed in a statement that what he called Ireland's measures and hostile language toward "Israel" stem from efforts to undermine and vilify the Jewish state while applying biased, unequal standards.
Ireland, along with Spain and Norway, recognized a Palestinian state in separate statements issued one after the other on May 28, 2024, and shortly after, Dublin approved its first Palestinian ambassador, Dr. Wahba Abdelmajid.
