Dublin City Council calls on government to enact Occupied Territory Bill

Dublin City Council last night unanimously voted in favour of a Sinn Féin motion calling on the Irish government to enact the Occupied Territories Bill, to stop trade between Ireland and illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.

The motion coincides with the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, which killed 1,205 people and precipitated a year of retaliatory attacks by Israel, resulting in the death of over 41,000 Palestinians.

The Bill was originally introduced in 2018 by Independent senator Frances Black, but previous Attorneys General had advised it was contrary to European Union trade law.

Since then, however, the International Court of Justice advisory opinion found Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to be in breach of international law and that Israel’s occupation of those territories amounts to long-term annexation, which has undermined the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

On top of the present vote, the Council also agreed on a motion condemning both the October 7 attacks and the Israeli response. Councillors will request that Taoiseach Simon Harris convey the motion to US president Joe Biden during his visit to Washington this week.

Speaking of the government’s lack of action concerning the Occupied Territory Bill, Dublin Sinn Féin City Councillor Daithí Doolan, who proposed the motion, said: “This shameful foot-dragging is totally unacceptable.”

Speaking before the vote, he also said enacting the Bill would send a “clear message to Israel that there are consequences if they continue to pursue their policy of genocide”. He also insisted on the importance for, “the largest local authority in the county” to speak “in one voice and calling on the Government to move on this”.