Ireland will restrict its planned curbs on trade with Israeli settlements to goods only, a senior minister said, giving the first clear indication of the bill’s scope as Dublin faces competing pressure from domestic campaigners, Israel and the United States.
The legislation aims to block imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move the government has been preparing for months. Critics at home want the bill to cover services, while Israel and Washington have urged Ireland to abandon the proposal outright.
Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, told Reuters that the planned law would be “an extremely limited measure” targeting only products sourced from territories regarded as illegally occupied under international law.
He said the bill would not enter force this year and declined to give a date for when it would be sent to parliament. “It would prohibit imports of goods from illegally occupied territories. Similar measures have already been brought in in a number of European countries,” Byrne said.
His comments offer the clearest insight yet into Dublin’s approach as the government weighs legal and diplomatic consequences. The legislation is expected to influence how other European countries design rules on trade with Israeli settlements.
Earlier this year, sources told Reuters that officials planned to narrow the bill’s impact to a small list of goods such as dried fruit, worth roughly two hundred thousand euros each year. Extending the measure to services would have affected technology firms and other companies with operations in both Ireland and Israel, something business lobby groups strongly opposed.
Ireland has been one of the European Union’s most vocal critics of Israel’s assault in Gaza. Authorities in the territory say more than sixty-seven thousand people have been killed since the conflict began. The government has faced calls from Irish lawmakers, including Catherine Connolly and Frances Black, to broaden the ban to include services, though Byrne’s remarks indicate ministers are unlikely to do so.
Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. Israel disputes that, citing historical and religious ties to the land and arguing the settlements provide strategic security benefits.
The final wording of Ireland’s bill has not been published. Byrne said only that the government is still assessing the legal and political implications and that implementation will not happen before next year.
Africa Digital News, New York
