Ireland moves ahead with settlement goods ban despite limits on services

The Irish government approved a draft legislation Tuesday aimed at banning imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, with ministers hoping the bill will become law before the summer recess, according to a report by the RTE broadcaster.

But Prime Minister Micheal Martin said the measures would not be extended to cover services, arguing that the provision would be difficult to enforce and could have economic consequences for Ireland.

He said before a Cabinet meeting that broadening the legislation beyond goods risked creating unintended effects for US multinational firms operating in Ireland.

“We need to be realistic and need to be honest with people in respect of what we can achieve via this legislation,” he said.

The proposed law, formally titled the Israeli Settlements (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill, is intended to prevent the import of products originating from Israeli settlements regarded as illegal under international law.

The legislation forms part of a series of steps taken by Dublin in response to the war in the Gaza Strip and the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Martin said the bill followed Irish government decisions, including recognizing a Palestinian state and supporting South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

The coalition government wants to pass the legislation before parliament breaks for the summer in July.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said that more than 880 people have been killed and more than 2,645 others injured in Israeli attacks since a ceasefire was announced last October.

The agreement was meant to halt Israel’s two-year war that killed more than 72,000 people, most of them women and children, injured over 172,000 since October 2023, and caused massive destruction affecting 90% of civilian infrastructure.