The Israeli foreign ministry has summoned the Irish ambassador to protest the bill which was opposed by Ireland’s government arguing that it is not legally entitled to curtail trade with Israeli companies based in the settlements.
The “Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018,” which passed the Irish Senate in a 25-20 vote on July 11, makes it a criminal offense, punishable by a fine of up to €250,000 ($292,000) or up to five years in prison, for a person “to import or sell goods or services originating in an occupied territory or to extract resources from an occupied territory in certain circumstances; and to provide for related matters.”
JERUSALEM/DUBLIN—“There is no point in summoning the Irish ambassador for a reprimand. With Israel haters there is nothing to debate. Israel should immediately close the embassy in Dublin. We will not turn the other cheek to those who boycott us,” said Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman in a reaction after Ireland’s Senate approved a bill which criminalizing the import of products from Israeli settlements.
On Thursday, the Israeli foreign ministry summoned the Irish ambassador to protest the bill which was opposed by Ireland’s government arguing that it is not legally entitled to curtail trade with Israeli companies based in the settlements.
Ireland is known as one of the most pro-Palestinian country among the EU member state.
But Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, who visited Israel in June, has expressed reservations about the bill, saying that while it would send “an important signal to the Palestinian people,” it would not enhance Ireland’s international position.
On Tuesday he tweeted opposition to the bill, writing: “The Irish government has always condemned construction of illegal settlements. But this bill asks Irish government to do something it is not legally empowered to do – trade is an EU competence, not an Irish one. This move is both opportunist and irresponsible.”
According to the bill, all imports from “illegal settlements”, including the Golan Heights and the West Bank, could result in fines. It was initiated by Senator Frances Black who has slammed Israeli settlements as “war crimes” and compared her initiative to Ireland’s anti-apartheid actions against South Africa.
According to EU law, its members can only label products coming from settlements, but not boycott or impose sanctions on their imports.
The initiative will be handed over to Irish parliamentary committees until it is finally approved by the Irish parliamentarians.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon declared that “the Irish Senate has given its hand to an aggressive, dangerous and radical populist anti-Israel boycott initiative that undermines prospects for a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians.’’
“The boycott will harm the livelihood of many Palestinians working in the Israeli industrial zones affected by the boycott, and will only deepen conflicts in the Middle East,” he said.
The Jerusalem Post reported that a New York based think tank, The Lawfare Project, took issue with Ireland’s claim that the legislation did not constitute a boycott of Israel.
It has filed a court case in Ireland against the bill, which claims it to be illegal under EU and US law. If the legislation is passed into law, US companies with Irish branches could no longer continue to operate in Ireland because they would be in violation with the US anti-boycott laws, the Lawfare Project stated.
It is particularly concerned by the section of the bill which states that “‘settlement goods” means goods produced in whole or in part within a relevant occupied territory by an illegal settler.”
This means, The Lawfare Project said, that the ban can also applies to products produced within areas of Israel inside the Green Line.
The Project’s Spanish counsel, Ignacio Palacios said the bill “would enact an official, highly aggressive anti-Israel boycott policy within a national government that targets individuals not based on their conduct, but on their national origin and place of residence.”
Palacios explained, “The presence and taxes paid by the subsidiaries of U.S. technology companies are critical for the economy of Ireland: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Dell, Oracle, and SanDisk are ranked high among the top 20 Irish companies, with total turnovers of €192.5 billion in 2016.”