Opinion
17 Jul 26

IPSC on "watered down" Occupied Territories Bill: "The government has rejected mainstream sentiment, as well as justice"

Protestors at the National Demonstration for Palestine in Dublin on October 4, 2025. Photo: Chloe Craft/hotpress.com

"We commit to demand full sanctions on Israel and to keep working in support of the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality," reads a post from the IPSC.

The Occupied Territories Bill has garnered criticism after failing to include services as part of the ban on Israeli imports.

Formally titled the Israeli Settlements (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026, the new law will make it an offence to import goods originating from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

Under international law, these settlements are illegal under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory.

The final vote was overshadowed by controversy over the scope of the ban. The final attempt to include services, such as technology and IT, in legislation failed.

A new post by the Ireland Palestinian solidarity campaign states : "The occupied territories bill has been passed today. After blocking it for 8 years, the government has now watered it down to exclude services. This means that 70% of Ireland’s trade with apartheid Israel's village settlements remains untouched, leaving us still in breach of our obligations under international law."

Originally proposed by Senator Frances Black in 2018, the legislation is now set to be signed into law by President Catherine Connolly within weeks.

"We recognise that this first sanction by Ireland on Israel has been brought about by years of campaigning and by the huge public mobilisations we have seen over the last two and a half years and we commit, as we always have, to demand full sanctions on Israel and to keep working in support of the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality," continues the statement.

Senator Black expressed deep disappointment, stating that the omission allows large tech and IT companies off the hook and represents a "tragedy" that leaves Ireland in breach of its international legal obligations.

"As Israel continues it’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, steals yet more land in the Occupied West Bank, ethnically cleanses thousands of people, and commits daily war crimes, the Irish government should be imposing full sanctions on it, instead it has chosen to keep doing business with it’s village settlements," says the post.