Sir, – This Saturday marks 100 days since the new Irish Government took office, and there has been a failure to deliver on one significant election promise: to pass the Occupied Territories Bill.
Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael made clear commitments prior to the election to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements. Yet despite these promises and the urgency of the situation on the ground in Palestine, the Government has indicated it intends to scrap Senator Frances Black’s Occupied Territories Bill and introduce their own watered down version. There is no urgency or clear process, no action has been taken, and there is now a risk this crucial legislation could be delayed indefinitely.
This is wholly unacceptable and inadequate, given the context of what has unfolded in Palestine in the last 100 days. In Gaza, Israel ended the ceasefire on March 18th after two months, leading to renewed death and destruction. Trócaire’s local partners are witnessing an unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe, people are struggling to survive and the threat of starvation looms over the whole population, while 345,000 people are at immediate risk of famine.
After almost two months of a total blockade on Gaza by Israel, there is now no food. Not a single piece of bread, glass of water, or medicinal pill has been allowed to reach Gaza since Israel resumed its bombardment and siege. Indeed, hearings have begun this week at the International Court of Justice that accuse Israel of using aid as a weapon of war.
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At the same time, across the West Bank the Israeli military has been conducting devastating military operations in which hundreds have been killed, many thousands have been displaced, and massive damage has been caused.
Israel’s illegal settlements, which the Occupied Territories Bill seeks to prevent trade with, continue to expand and grow unchecked, with regular announcements by the Israeli government of new homes on stolen Palestinian land.
When we are considering the most serious of war crimes – preventing genocide, ethnic cleansing and the use of starvation as a weapon of war – I sincerely hope our Government has not used the Occupied Territories Bill as a vehicle to gain the support of the Irish people prior to an election, only to then delay, prevaricate, make excuses and potentially shelve this legislation once in office.
This should not be a matter of political choices or election promises, and neither should it be contingent on our concerns in relation to trade with the US. Ireland has clear human rights obligations under international law. Last month, top UN legal expert Francesca Albanese visited Ireland, and stated clearly that Ireland has a legal obligation to, at a minimum, pass the Occupied Territories Bill, particularly in light of the landmark judgment last year by the International Court of Justice.
Speaking in Brussels last October in response to that judgment, the Taoiseach stated “the ICJ advisory opinion is a game changer in terms of the context, because it places an obligation on all countries” to take necessary actions to end trade with Israeli settlements.
Furthermore, the Government’s indication that it will likely weaken the Bill, restricting it to a narrower ban on just goods and not services, flies in the face of our legal obligations. The ICJ judgment was clear, it makes no distinction between trade in goods and trade in services. We can’t just pick and choose what parts of international law suit us.
Israel is on trial for genocide at the ICJ, Israel’s prime minister is the subject of an international arrest warrant, accused of using starvation as a method of war, murder and persecution. The very survival of Gaza and its people is under threat. Yet the Irish people are deeply committed to justice for the Palestinian people. We expect our Government to pass the Occupied Territories Bill in full, to meet our obligations under international law, and to fulfil the promises made to voters before the election. – Yours, etc,
CAOIMHE DE BARRA,
Trócaire chief executive,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.
