The Irish government on Wednesday reiterated its intention to boycott Israeli goods from Judea and Samaria, publishing a draft bill it said would be voted on in parliament.
The draft states: “The importation of goods originating in an Israeli settlement is prohibited,” clarifying that “Israeli settlement” means “a city, village or industrial zone located in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.”
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement on Wednesday that, “The prohibition created by the bill will also then engage the customs powers under that act, including those relating to search, seizure and forfeiture.”
The draft bill will now be referred to the Irish parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade “for pre-legislative scrutiny,” the statement said.
According to Simon Harris, the Irish deputy prime minister, minister for foreign affairs and trade and minister for defense, “Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution. This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
If passed, Ireland would become the first E.U. member state with a ban on Israeli goods.
Israel reacted strongly to the Irish decision last month to begin working on the boycott bill published Wednesday. It accused Dublin of singling out the Jewish state and aligning with extremist narratives.
The relationship between the two countries has grown increasingly tense in recent months. In December, Israel closed its embassy in Dublin, accusing Ireland of double standards and dehumanizing Israelis. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar at the time denounced Irish President Michael D. Higgins as an “antisemitic liar” after Higgins during a Holocaust Remembrance Day speech criticized Israeli actions.
The European Court of Justice ruled in 2019 that Israeli goods from Judea and Samaria, and the Golan, cannot be labeled “Made in Israel,” but it has not ruled on a boycott. It would likely raise legal objections on equality grounds in the absence of E.U. boycotts on imports from other disputed territories, including Turkish-run Northern Cyprus, Western Sahara in Morocco, and Tibet. The European Union did impose sweeping sanctions on imports from Russia in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine.
Ireland last week joined eight other member states—Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden—in asking the European Commission, the E.U.’s executive arm, to see how Israeli goods “can be brought into line with international law.”
Earlier this week, the commission stated that there are “indications” that Israel is in breach of its human-rights obligations under the 25-year-old EU-Israel Association Agreement. The E.U. foreign minister decided to postpone voting to July on whether or not to change the Association Agreement.
Last month, Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said in a report that Ireland, along with Spain and South Africa, were “countries that enable antisemitism through their selective criticism of Israel and abuse of the language of human rights.”
Ireland, Spain and South Africa have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, an allegation that Israel, the United States and other countries reject.
