Senator Frances Black and Kildare Palestine Support Group to meet in the Osprey Hotel tonight at 7.30pm to discuss new bill
By Kim O'Leary
Independent Senator Frances Black is coming to the Osprey Hotel in Naas tonight as part of a free event to speak about her recent visit to Palestine, the people she met, and the concrete steps Ireland can take against the ongoing injustice - including her Occupied Territories Bill 2018.
The bill would end trade between Ireland & Israel’s illegal settlements, and passed a historic first vote in July.
Speaking of the struggles faced by the Palestinian community during talks about the bill in Seanad Eireann, Senator Black said:"I have seen the impact of settlement expansion with my own eyes - the crushing indignity of a Palestinian community cut off from their water supply so it could be diverted to support an Israeli chicken farm. That injustice will stay with me forever and Ireland has a duty to oppose it."
It is understood that the Occupied Territories Bill 2018 will soon return to Seanad Éireann for the next stage.
Later this evening at the Osprey Hotel, Senator Black will outline why she tabled the bill, how we can help to get it passed, and why Irish-Palestinian solidarity is needed now more than ever. Meanwhile, members of the Kildare Palestine Solidarity Group are also expected to be in attendance.
In recent months the group has hosted a number or vigils in Newbridge and Celbridge following reports of violence in the Gaza region.
Israel has occupied the Palestinian 'West Bank' since 1967, and has since transferred over 600,000 of its citizens into illegal settlements in that territory. This has been facilitated by the confiscation of over 40% of available land, and severely reduced the land available for agriculture, housing and basic services. It has caused immense suffering and a deteriorating human rights situation on the ground, particularly due to restricted access to water and electricity.
However, Senator Black's bill does not ban Israeli goods. It makes the same distinction as the EU, between (a) Israeli goods, which are unaffected by the bill, and (b) goods produced in illegal settlements beyond the borders recognised by the Irish government and international community.
- Products that have appeared on Irish shelves from the illegal settlements would include agricultural products such as dates, grapes, peppers, herbs, potatoes and citrus fruits, as well as cosmetic products from Ahava - Dead Sea Minerals.
- The Irish Government have repeatedly stated that: “Ireland and its EU Partners have a clear position on Israeli settlements. The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Golan Heights are territories which have been occupied by Israel since 1967. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict impossible.”
- In 2012, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs unanimously called for such a ban, on the basis that it "could have a strong and effective impact on suffering in the region". Tanaiste Simon Coveney told the Dail that he is “open to considering in principle” an EU-level ban but outlined the “inescapable fact that there is no such prospect” of EU agreement at present.
The talk takes place at the Osprey Hotel tonight at 7.30pm. There is no entry fee and all are welcome to attend the talk.