Irish senate backs law banning trade with Israeli settlements

The Irish Senate gave its support on Wednesday to a legislation prohibiting the import or sale of goods and services produced in occupied territories around the world, including Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law.


The proposed law - passed 25 to 20 - to make it an offence to trade in such goods and services was introduced by an independent senator and drew support from all Ireland's major political parties except the governing Fine Gael party.

The bill will now go to the lower house of parliament for a debate and vote. If passed, the bill will have to go through several more stages of review and amendment before it is signed into a law.

Saeb Erekat, senior leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organistion, called the move by Ireland's upper house, Senead, "historic" and urge other countries to do the same.

"Today the Irish Senate has sent a clear message to the international community and particularly to the rest of the European Union: the mere talking about the two-state solution is not enough without taking concrete measures," Erekat said in a statement.
 [aljazeera.com]
 11/7/18