Committee to hear from Shatter, Palestine Alliance on Occupied Territories Bill
The commitee will hear from former justice minister Alan Shatter, of the Ireland Israel Alliance, who opposes the measure, and from speakers from pro-Palestinian organisations based in Ireland.
For some weeks the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade has been scrutinising the bill, known as the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Bill, which prohibits the importation of goods from those settlements.
In his opening statement. Mr Shatter will claim the bill is a sectarian measure, based on falsehoods, riddled with anomalies and obscurity and detached from historical and present day reality.
He is expected to say the bill discriminates against Jewish people.
Chair of the Ireland Palestine Alliance Eamonn Meehan will say the bill is an appropriate legal and necessary measure given the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands as judged by the UN's International Court of Justice.
The court, he will add, has ruled Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal and it must be brought to an end, with Israel evacuating existing settlements.
Following committee scrutiny. the proposed Government legislation is due to return to the floor of the Dáil for further debate, but with the Dáil rising for the summer on Thursday, that will not happen until the autumn.
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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Land of a Thousand Welcomes? Ireland doesn't seem to be after GAA Palestine's trip for kids was cruelly denied
THE Land of a Thousand Welcomes? Perhaps not . . . The charity group GAA Palestine recently 3 33 children had been due to arrive in Ireland on Friday Credit: Social Media Collect 3 Support was shown for them during the All-Ireland football semi-finals Credit: Sportsfile 3 Donegal legend Brendan Devenney did his best to convince Micheál Martin to act on the matter Understandably, the group were on cloud nine at the prospect of leaving their war-torn homeland. A four-night stay in Dublin was due to kick off the trip on Friday. A VIP tour of Donegal legend Brendan Devenney was due to meet the group in his county next week before they returned to Palestine on August 1. That was until last week when all 47 visa applications that were submitted in mid-May were refused and desperate pleas to the Department of Justice Read More On GAA That decision saw protests take place at last weekend's All-Ireland football semi-finals at Croke Park. Big-hearted Devenney was a full-blooded forward who played with passion during his Donegal days. And that passion was there for all to see at the weekend when he was on BBC duty for Taoiseach And as Martin left the field, Devenney seized the moment and door-stepped him. Most read in GAA Hurling Devenney revealed to SunSport: 'Can you imagine the outpouring of emotion these children would have got when they came here? 'You saw me tackle Micheál Martin, he had the power to stop it. He seems like a nice enough man, but my life and job is with people. 'Easiest interview I've ever had' jokes RTE GAA host after pundits go back and forth before Meath vs Donegal 'I just said, 'I'm involved in this trip for the Palestinian kids, I'm in charge of the Donegal leg and we need to get this done'. 'The documentation was accepted in the Irish embassy in Israel and €38,000 had to be paid in flights, and they insisted that the flights were paid for up front as part of this, and now that money can't be refunded. 'He said it's down to the Department of Justice, but he has the overall say in all of these departments. "So many people want this to happen, and so many people have put so much time, energy, and money into this yet the Government has blocked it, and it's a complete joke.' GAA Palestine travelled to the Department of Justice on Monday in an 11th-hour plea to have the visas approved. But after hours of waiting, they were told to enter an appeals process — scuppering the group's planned arrival on Friday. DOJ REPLY SunSport contacted The Department of Justice and their reply read: 'The Department appreciates that the decision to refuse these applications has caused disappointment. 'These applications were given very careful consideration and the reasons for their refusal have been communicated in the decision letter. 'Each visa application is decided on its own merits. However, it is the case that the organisation of an event, no matter how good the intention, does not guarantee that a visa will be subsequently granted. 'Applications made on behalf of minors who are not travelling in the company of their parents must be supported with evidence that appropriate child protection measures are in place during the visit. 'In all cases, evidence of financial means, employment or other ties that indicate a person intends to return home are important criteria.' GAA Palestine insist all documentation and supporting evidence requested was submitted. And that final paragraph of the Department statement grates given that this a group of mainly children who are coming from a war zone. Is this Ireland? Is this really us? Let Them Play.
RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Occupied Territories Bill unlikely to fall despite Oireachtas meeting
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There was a slight degree of apprehension as everyone took their seats in Committee room 2, and so Chairperson John Lahart took the opportunity to say at the outset that while there are "strongly held views" on the Bill, every participant should be treated with respect. He also urged those in the public gallery not to interrupt. The first to speak was Maurice Cohen, who is Chair of Jewish Representative Council of Ireland. He declared: "I speak as an Irish citizen, born and raised here in Dublin," adding that the "small, long established Irish Jewish community" in Ireland "is now increasingly fearful". Part of that fear he said was down to the Occupied Territories Bill. Mr Cohen declared: "While this Bill may not set out to target Jews or Jewish life, its message is unmistakably felt by us." He continued: "Let me clear: criticism of Israel is not antisemitism, but when criticism becomes a campaign... we must pause." "This Bill is not a plan for peace. It is not a policy. It is a performance of misguided effort." "It won't bring two states closer, but it might drive Jewish communities here in Ireland further into fear and isolation," he warned. Mr Cohen was followed by the former Fine Gael Minister Alan Shatter who was more combative in the language he used. He claimed the Bill is the "first initiative of any European government to enact legislation to intentionally boycott and discriminate against Jews since the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945." "This antisemitic symbolism is reinforced by the absence from the Bill of any prohibition on the importation of goods originating from any other occupied territory'", he said. That was a theme which was continually raised during the Committee's hearing - only Israel was being targeted by the planned legislation. The Oireachtas was not going after Hamas which had triggered the latest conflict by killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping 250 others on 7 October 2023. The Oireachtas was also not going after Iran which had financed Hamas in Gaza, and other entities like Hezbollah in Lebanon. That is why Yoni Wieder, Chief Rabbi at the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, suggested the Bill "demonises Israel". The original Occupied Territories Bill which was introduced by Independent Senator Frances Black in 2018 didn't contain that distinction. It only said:"Illegal settler means a member of the civilian population of an occupying power who was or is present within the relevant occupied territory and whose presence is being, or has been, facilitated directly or indirectly, by the occupying power." In his opening statement, Alan Shatter claimed the Government's revised legislation - the Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Bill - is "essentially a sectarian measure based on falsehoods, riddled with obscurity and anomalies". One of the guests appeared via video link from London - Natasha Hausdorff, Legal Director of the UK Lawyers For Israel. She too zoned in on this issue, arguing: "This version of the Bill now abandons all pretence of going after so-called occupied territories and targets Israel explicitly." Ms Hausdorff also predicted that it could trigger a departure of US companies from Ireland due to "longstanding US anti-boycott legislation" which would pose grave risks for such firms continuing to trade in Ireland." When the moment came for engagement between the Committee members and their invited guests, a time limit came into play. Each TD and Senator had a total of 4 minutes to ask questions and for the invited guest to reply. The Independent Senator Alice Mary Higgins pushed back against the anti-Israeli narrative which had been directed against Ireland in the opening statements. She told the Committee that the Taoiseach Micheál Martin had repeatedly clarified that this is "not a boycott of Israel". "It does not affect Israeli goods," she said. "It only affects the settlements." She asked if the guests accepted that the settlements built in the West Bank are "illegal settlements". "Do you believe that they are part of Israel?" she inquired. That was followed-up by Fine Gael TD for Dun Laoghaire Bary Ward who asked all the witnesses if they accept that "Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory are contrary to International Law." Deputy Ward asked for a yes or a no. Maurice Cohen said he would not be forced into single word answers. "I don't have a yes or a no because there isn't one," said Alan Shatter. He added he "does not accept" that the Israeli-occupied territories in the West Bank are illegally occupied land. Natasha Hausdorff said: "One cannot occupy what is one's sovereign territory." The exchanges were pointed, but not more than that. Later, Labour's Duncan Smith said all the witnesses had failed to recognise that the settlements in the Palestinian territories are illegal. "That's a fundamental point of divergence," he said, and contrary to international law. The only time that the tone of the debate frayed was after Mr Shatter claimed the Bill was a token gesture and akin to an episode of "Father Ted". The Fine Gael TD Brian Brennan recounted how he'd recently visited Cairo and met Palestinians from Gaza. He sat on the bed of a young man in the prime of his life who was dying, and held the hand "of a two year child that had bullet wounds". Responding to Mr Shatter's claim that the Occupied Territories Bill was nothing more than performance politics and a token gesture, Deputy Brennan said robustly: "How dare you come in here and make such statements!" Having referenced that he'd visited Israel, the West Bank and Gaza on countless occasions, Mr Shatter replied: "I don't think a single visit, deputy, to Egypt is the be-all and end-all to resolving the conflict. And this Bill certainly won't resolve the conflict.". Barrister Natasha Hausdorff went further and said the Bill was "succour to Hamas" and "antisemitic". That drew a something of a rebuke from the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart. He said a claim of antisemitism being levelled against TDs and Senators was hugely hurtful and slanderous. "It is the descent by the Israeli government and the Israeli Defense Forces into the darkest of places that certainly motivates - as far as I can see - all members of this Committee, from a humanitarian perspective." He added: "There isn't an antisemite in this room. There isn't an antisemite in the Dáil." Deputy Lahart said he believed Mr Shatter was "influential" and he urged him "to take that on board", including when dealing with those in the US establishment. Whatever about that request, Mr Shatter did not concede an inch of the Occupied Territories Bill. He maintained that Palestinian supporters of the Bill were being "fooled and misled" about it having any impact, and that resulted from the fact that "critical faculties are suspended" at Leinster House. In keeping with the Committee's broad approach, Sinn Féin's Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire sought to find some common position with the guests. The Cork South Central TD said the Jewish community in Ireland should feel welcome and a full part of Irish society. He added it is not right to put the responsibility of the actions of Israel's government on individual Jewish people. Deputy Ó Laoghaire then asked Alan Shatter if he accepted that Ireland is bound by international law and compelled to act. Mr Shatter said he studied international law but claimed that it has been "politicised and weaponised and distorted in political debate". The former Fine Gael minister maintained he believed that Ireland could play a real role to try and bring Israelis and Palestinians together. But that would require an even hand and, by extension, the Occupied Territories Bill would have to fall. The mood of the Committee suggested such a development was highly unlikely to happen.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
'Small' number of special classes will not go ahead due to 'drop off' in expected level of need, Dáil hears
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